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GEO. H. TINKHAM 



CALIFORNIA 

MEN AND EVENTS 

TIME 1769-1890 



By 
GEORGE H. TINKHAM 

Author of "History of Stockton," "Monterey County, 

"San Benito County" and "Half Century 

of Odd Fellowship." 



PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION EDITION 
1915 



.T5'E 



Cop3'right applied for, 1915, by 
Geo. H. Tinkliani 



Print by the 
Record Publishing Company, Stockton, California 

Halftones, !)>■ I lie Sunset Plioto KiiKiaving Co., fioiu old prints. 

M/IR 13 J9I5 



DEDICATION 

To my Father and Mother, 
pioneers of 1849 and 1853, 
this history is sacredly dedi- 
cated, and to the Pioneers, in 
general, of whom Joaquin 
Miller said, "The cowards 
stayed at home, and the 
weaklings fell by the way- 
side". 



PREFACE 

In this little volume the compiler has made no effort 
to write in the so-called literary style. He has simply 
attempted to record, in a brief and an interesting man- 
ner, a few of the many events in the days forever past. 

To save space, he has crowded many of the impor- 
tant incidents into the notes and so do not overlook the 
notes. 

Authorities, yes, he has not forgotten them. The 
author, during the past thirty years, has read or glanced 
through, everything that "came his way" regarding 
California history. 

Nearly all of the events that have been written, save 
from books of individual experiences, have been taken 
from Bancroft's, and Hittell's histories, and from Span- 
ish and pioneer manuscripts. They are the original 
sources of general information. 

The author occupies a rather unique or peculiar 
position. It is between the twilight and the sun-rise, so 
to speak. In boyhood he mingled with the pioneers. 
He attended the public schools and grew to manhood, 
with other pioneer sons. He has seen the majority of 
the '49ers pass on to the land whose streets are paved 
with gold. And he now sees a second generation of 
native sons, spring into birth and active life. 

Hence enjoying the greater part of his daj's in 
California atmosphere, he knows whereof he writes. 




PRAYER BOOK CROSS 

In Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, this cross was 
erected in commemoration of the first religious service 
on the Pacific Coast. It was the gift of Geo. W. Childs 
of Philadelphia, and cost $10,000. With imposing cere- 
mony, it was unveiled January 1, 1894. 



CALIFORNIA'S PASTORAL DAYS, 1769- 1834 



LEADING EVENTS 



Beginning of Civilization. 

Founding of Missions. 

Slavery of Indians. 
Priestly Rule. 

Crude Form of Government. 

Plenty of Food and Drink. 

Peace, Contentment and Happiness. 
IMexican Independence. 

Freedom of Indians. 

Agriculture and Horticulture. 



II 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Prayer Book Cross 10 

Carmelo Mission 14 

Serra's Monument 25 

Father Junipero Serra 25 

Gen. M. G. Vallejo and Wife 37 

Ex-Governor Pico, Jose Castro 37 

Christopher Carson 50 

John C. Fremont, General Kearny 50 

John W. Marshall 66 

Captain John A. Sutter 66 

Sutter's Mill 70 

Sacramento, 1850 77 

Sutter's Fort 87 

Colton Hall 96 

Spanish Old Custom House 96 

Stockton in 1849 113 

San Francisco in 1850 113 

State Capitol, 1854 179 

Vigilance Committee Rooms 179 

William M. Gwin 198 

David S. Terry 198 

David S. Broderick 198 

James Woods 202 

John Swett 202 

Bishop Kip 202 

Thomas Starr King 218 

Edward D. Baker 218 

Ruel C. Gridley 218 

Home of Charles M. Weber 224 

Ex-Governor Peter H. Burnett 240 

Ex-Governor Henry H. Haight 240 

Senator Leland Stanford 240 

Stage Coach and Big Wagon 283 

Driving the Golden Spike 285 

George C. Pardee 308 

Hiram W. Johnson 308 

Wm. C. Ralston 312 

Bank of California 312 

John W. Bidwell 322 



12 



CONTENTS CHAPTERS 



1 — Following the Padres. 

2 — The Spanish Conquest. 

3 — Mexican California Events. 

4 — Conquest of California. 

5 — The Cry of Gold. 

6 — On to California. 
)<f — Organization of State. 

8 — Administration of Bigler. 

9 — Commercial Events. 
10 — The Foreigner and the Slave. 
11 — Crimes and Criminals. 
12— Exciting Events, 1850-60. 
13— Political Events, 1854-56. 
14 — Pulpit, Press and School. 
15 — California During the War. 
16 — Political Revolutions. 
17 — Chinese vs. Kearnejnsm. 
18— The Railroad Age. 
19 — Unplaced Events. 



13 




CARMELO MISSION 
The Home and Burial Place of Father Junipero Setra. 



CHAPTER I. 



FOLLOWING THE PADRES 

The desire for fame, power and wealth is one 
of the strongest ambitions of individual and 
nation. And in the last half of the fifteenth cen- 
tury we find the four most powerful kingdoms 
— Spain, Russia, France and England — either 
through conquest or discovery, seeking new 
lands. 

Spain had come into the possession of the 
entire Pacific coast, because of the discoveries of 
Balboa (1513) and Cabrillo (1519). The navi- 
gator last named sailed as far north as Cape Men- 
docino. All nations acknowledged the Spanish 
claim and her title was undisturbed until 1580. _ 
Then the famous English navigator, Sir Francis 
Drake, claimed all of the land north of San Fran- 
cisco bay for Elizabeth, his Queen, on account 
of his explorations. Two years previous Drake 
sailed into the north Pacific, in his ship, the 
Golden Hind. He captured many Spanish gal- 
leons, as they sailed from Manila to Panama, 
laden with valuable treasure. Having filled his 
ship with vast wealth, he sailed northward and 
expected to reach England through the reported 
northwest passage. The strait of Annan was a 
myth. Turning southward, he sailed along the 
California coast, where he discovered and an- 
chored in the bay now known as Drake's bay. 
He landed and took possession of the soil in the 
name of England's Queen. While on shore 
Fletcher, the chaplain, on June 24th, 1579, held 
divine service. This was the first religious serv- 
ice on the Pacific coast. 

The British Queen paid no attention to the 
new land and Alta (upper) California remained 

15 



16 MEX AXD EVEXTS 

unexj)lore(l. almost forgotten, for nearly two hun- 
dred years. 

In the meantime Baja (lower) California had 
been settled and explored by the Jesuits. They 
had occupied the peninsula since 1697, but in 1767 
they were driven from the soil by the govern- 
ment. The Franciscans were put in full possesr 
sion of all the missions and Jesuits' property. 

In the following year (1768) King Phillip 
learned that the Russians had crossed Rehring's 
straits and were encroaching upon Spanish soil, 
for Spain claimed all the territory south of the 
strait of Juan de Fuca. 

Immediately the King got busy. He com- 
manded Jose Galvez, the Inspector General of, 
Mexico, to colonize upper California. According 
to national law. all claimants to land must 
occupy the soil. The government could not 
compel citizens to immigrate to the new land 
and Galvez sought the assistance of Father Juni- 
pero Serra. then president of the California mis- 
sions The good padre quickly assented, as he 
was anxious to carry the gospel banner to the 
Indians. 

In the colonization work it was agreed that 
llie Franciscans were to found the missions, at- 
tend to the religious work, and have full control 
of the Indian c(jnverts. The government was to 
found puel^los (towns), presidios (barracks) and 
have full charge of the military and the civil 
power. They were to guard all mission property 
and, when required, provide a military escort to 
the friars. 

In carrying out so large a work Cialvez planned 
four expeditions to San Diego bay, two overland 
and two by water. The vessels were to be loaded 
with agricultural implements, seeds of various 
kinds, food supplies, and sufficient church furni- 
ture to found two missions. The land parties 
were to take with them cattle and pack animals. 

After much preliminary work, the ship San 
Carlos was fitted out, Father Serra blessed the 
vessel, the crew and the flag. Leaving La Paz 
January 9th, 1769, she arrived at her destination 
April 14th. It was a \-oyage of suffering and 
death. The companion ship of the San Carlos, 



FOLLOWING THE PADRES 17 

the San Antonio, sailed from Cape St. Lucas 
February 15th, making a quick trip and arriving 
April 14th at San Diego. The first land party, 
that in command of Captain Rivera y Moncada, 
reached their new home May 14th. March 24th 
they left Velecata. In command of Caspar de 
Portola, then Governor of California, the second 
land party on March 9th left Loreto. President 
Serra accompanied this party. After four months 
of travel they arrived July 1st, and were greeted 
with salutes and cheers, a party going out to 
escort the Governor into camp. 

There had been much suft'ering and loss of 
life. In the four expeditions 219 soldiers, In- 
dians and sailors started for San Diego; 126 
only survived. On the morrow, however, July 
2nd, this little pilgrim band celebrated a solemn 
high mass. The "Te Deum Laudamus" was 
sung, accompanied by salvos of musketry. 

Mourning not for their dead nor delaying any 
longer than necessary the work of the church, 
the zealous padres immediately began prepara- 
tion for the founding of the two missions, one 
at San Diego, the other at Monterey. The ship 
San Jose, loaded with supplies, was despatched 
to Monterey harbor. Unfortunately, however, 
she was lost on the voyage. 

The mission of San Diego de Alcala, July 
14th, 1769, was founded by Father Serra. Gov- 
ernor Portola was then on his march northward, 
accompanied by Fathers Crespi and Gomez and 
64 soldiers, muleteers and Indians, he having left 
the harbor July 12th. In this famous march, 
now twice celebrated by San Francisco, his des- 
tination was Monterey bay. Portola had neither 
guide nor map, but he believed he could locate 
the harbor by the description of it as given by 
the navigator Viscaino. This famous navigator 
discovered the bay in 1602 (a). 

But when the Governor reached Monterey he 
found no vessel at anchor. Thinking the harbor 
was farther north, he continued his journey. 
Three months later the party was in great dis- 
tress. Their supply of food was fast diminishing. 
Starvation seemed not far distant. While trav- 
eling in what is now San Mateo county, Novem- 



18 MEN AXD EVENTS 

her 2n(l. a few soldiers climbing a hill to look 
for deer discovered on the east a big body of 
water, San Francisco bay. Immediately they 
rejoiced, for they believed that they had found 
Monterc}' l)ay, and soon would have a su])ply 
of food. They hastened l)ack and reported. 
The next day the entire party traveled along the 
shore looking for the ship San Jose. The In- 
dians by signs communicated with the party. 
They understood the savages to say a vessel lay 
near the ocean. Traveling to what is now the 
Cliff house, they saw and recognized in the 
north Point Reyes and San Francisco (Drake's) 
bay (b). They now returned to San Diego 
(January, 1770). and announced their arrival l)y 
the tiring of guns. 

In the meantime events were very discourag- 
ing in the mission. There had been no prog- 
ress. The Indians had attacked the Spaniards, 
badly wounding the ])lacksmith and killing a 
l)oy. The food supply was fast disajipearing. 
(iovernor Portola commanded that March 20th 
the entire party should return to La Paz unless 
relief came. Fathers Serra and Crespi declared 
that they would not lea\^e San Diego, but would 
take their chances of life with the Indians. .Ml 



(a) Fatlicr Ascension, who was with the Viscaiiio 
expedition in 1603, celebrated mass in this historic 
spot. -Again was mass celebrated in 1769 by the Por- 
tola partj'. Father Serra was the tliird padre to there 
celebrate mass. ' 

A >mall wooden cross bearing upon its arms the 
date June .3, 1770, together with the small oak tree, 
stood there for many years. I saw it in 1SS4. Later 
the tree and cross w^ere cut down and a full-sized 
marble statue of Father Serra was erected. There is 
a similar statue in Golden Gate park. ]\lrs. Jane L. 
Stanford also erected at Monterey, upon the summit 
of the iiill. a very handsome and costly marble memo- 
ri.il. It represents Fatiier Serra stepping from a lioat 
lo llie I)each. bearing in his arms a hirge cross. 

(b) This bay (Bodega), together witli Point Reyes, 
was discovered in 1595 by Sebastian Ccremon, a Ma- 
nila pilot. lie nanu'd tin- bay San Francisco and the 
])oint. Reyes. Ilence tlie mi>un<ierstanding of tlie 
navigators and padres in 1769. Tliey confounded the 
two names and l)elieved that the soldiers had re-discov- 
ered the b;iy named by Ccremon. 



FOLLOWING THE PADRES 19 

of the padres beg^an a novena, or nine days of 
prayer. The nuNcna ended nn the evening of 
March 19th. Strange to say, the following- 
morning a ship was seen upon the ocean and a 
few hours later the San Antonio entered port 
laden with food supplies. 

The ship's captain Ijrought goods news to 
Father Serra ; Galvez commanded that a mis- 
sion be founded at Monterey immediately. The 
San Antonio was sent on with food and church 
furniture. The party (April 17th, 1770) again 
began their march for the historic spot, and, 
arriving May 24th, they camped on Carmelo 
bay. Fresh water was plentiful there. The bay 
was so named in honor of the three barefooted 
Carmelite padres who accompanied the Mscaino 
expedition. 

As soon as the vessel arrived the entire party 
moved down to the beach at Monterey. "Be- 
neath an oak tree near the water's edge," wrote 
Father Crespi, "a brush wood shelter was 
erected. An altar was arranged and the bells 
suspended. The celebration began with the 
loud ringing of the bells. Then President Serra, 
vested with alb and stole, the entire company 
knelt and sung the hymn of the day, 'Venite 
Creator Spiritus' (Come, Holy Spirit). The 
President then blessed the water and the great 
cross which had been erected. He then sprin- 
kled the shore and all of the surroundings with 
holy water 'in order to drive away all infernal 
enemies.' Thereupon High Mass was celebrated 
at the altar of Our Lady. At the close of the 
mass 'Salve Regina' (Hail to Our Queen) was 
sung, and the whole ceremony closed with the 
*Te Deum Laudamus' (Thee, O God, We 
Praise)." 

In this manner (June 3rd, 1769) was the mis- 
sion San Carlos founded. It is now in use as 
the Catholic church of Monterey. Father Serra 
was not pleased with the mission location. 
There was no fertile soil in that locality, and it 
was too near the soldiers' barracks either for 
the best interests of the Indian converts or the 
young women. Permission was given by the 
King, and in November, 1770, the mission proper 



20 MEN AND EVENTS 

wa.s remo\ed to the beautiful Carmelo valley. 
A temporary building erected upon a high knoll 
was used as a mission until 1791. The corner- 
stone of the present mission was laid in 1793. 
Four years later the church was dedicated, (c). 



Father Serra was a great admirer of Francis 
de Assisi, founder of the Franciscans, and he was 
anxious to have a mission founded in his honor. 

When Galvez named the mission to be found- 
ed, Father Serra exclaimed : 'Ts there to be no 
mission to our Father Saint Francis?" 

Galvez replied : 

"If St. Francis desires a mission, let him show 
us his port and we will build one there." 

Serra, learning of the discovery of the bay, 
believed that God had guided the Portola party 
to that point, and he declared : "Our Father 
St. Francis has made known to us his port, and 
we will build a mission there." 

Serra knew not that the port was on the north 
side of the Golden Gate (d), a point inaccessible 
to them ; so they transferred the name to the 
present San Francisco bay. 

Fathers Cambon and Palou, the latter a very 
intimate friend of Serra's, were sent to San 
Francisco in June, 1776, to find a mission site. 
They selected the si)ot then known as the Do- 
lores lagoon (a spring of water) having there 



(c) This mission building was the largest and best 
in California. Its walls were built of a soft yellow 
sandstone, found in that vicinity, which hardens in the 
air. The cement between the blocks was made of 
soft mud mixed with finely powdered sea shells. The 
roof timbers were constructed of small oak trees, 
transported from the hill upon the shoulders of the 
Indians. The roof timbers were fastened together 
with nails imported from Spain. As the supply was 
limited, the padres made use of long narrow strips of 
cattle hide. The roof covering was of sun-dried 
brick, oval shape. Stone steps gave access to the two 
square built towers, the one a bell tower, the other 
opening into the choir loft. The halftone shows the 
old mission in its decay, before it was restored by a 
redwood shingled roof. 

(d) The Golden Gate was so named in 1844 by John 
C. Fremont. 



FOLLOWING THE PADRES 21 

been found in 1773. As the day set apart for the 
founding- of the mission drew near, padres, sol- 
diers and Indians assembled at the presidio. It 
had been several mcinths established. When all 
things were ready the company marched along 
the winding horse path from presidio to mission. 
The distance was about live miles. An Indian 
led the procession, bearing a banner of the cross. 
Behind him marched a second convert carrying 
an image of St. Francis, raised high upon a pole. 
On arrival. Father Palou planted and blessed a 
large cross. He then celebrated high mass, as- 
sisted by three other padres, who had come 
north from Monterey. The ceremony closed 
with a discourse upon the life of St. Francis. 

A temporary church was erected and thus 
used until 1787. In 1795 the present mission 
building was completed. Until 1888 the old 
landmark was a place of worship. In that year 
the present modern edifice was built. Remark- 
able as it may appear, the great fire of 1906 de- 
stroyed not this venerable mission. Upon 
reaching the edifice the flames suddenly changed 
their course. 

An event very unusual took place in this state 
November 24, 1913, for the Governor, Hiram W. 
Johnson, declared it a legal holiday in honor of 
the 200th anniversary of Father Junipero Serra. 
It was a commendable honor, for Junipero Serra 
was California's first and most remarkable bene- 
factor. 

Born on the Isle of Majolica, Spain, November 
24th, 1713. he at the age of 17 joined the Fran- 
ciscans. Serra studied for the priesthood, and 
in 1749 he sailed for Mexico, there to labor with 
the friars of the San Fernando college. He was 
assigned to missionary work among the Indians 
of Serra Gorda. In 1768 the Franciscans were 
placed in possession of the peninsula missions, 
and Father Serra was appointed president. 

He arrived at Loreto April 1st. 1769. and re- 
mained in full charge of the Alta California 
missions until 1784. Then 71 years of age, he 
was rapidly failing in health. The death of his 
intimate friend. Father Crespi ; the news that the 
college was unable to send him more padres for 



22 ^[EX AXD EVENTS 

tlic founding- of new missions, and the fact that 
liis authority to confirm converts ended in Tuly 
hastened his death. He died August 28th. 1784. 
and was buried in the "sanctuary fronting the 
altar of Our Lady Dolores." It was thus re- 
corded in the church record (e). 

Two days previous to his death, although very 
feeble, he insisted on taking communion before 
the altar. There he knelt during the entire serv- 
ice, and he made confession to Father Palou. At 
his death the bells were tolled. Weeping Indians 
came and placed flowers upon his ])ody and half- 
hour guns were fired at the presidio. Monterey. 

Father Serra was a religious fanatic. His 
entire thought and talk was of a religious nature. 
Mxtremely austere in habit, he always slept upon 
a board. He would wear neither shoes nor 
-stockings, sandals only keeping his feet from the 
earth. He would drink no wine, and ate only 
the plainest kinds of food. He was also extremely 
])enitent. Often he would inflict self-punish- 
ment, after the manner of St. Francis. And 
Father Palou. his biographer, wrote that Serra 
at times would beat himself with a stone or 
chain upon the breast, while in the puljiit. until, 
l)]eeding and bruised, he sank to the floor uncon- 
scious. Sometimes he l)listered his flesh with a 
burning torch. 

The missions of Alta California were all 
l)lanned by the padres, the Indians performing 
the manual work. They were located in the 
most fertile spots along the coast, the padres 
l.-eing good judges of soil. Some of the missions 
had a crude system of irrigation. They were 
al)out a da}''s journey apart, and the well known 
l)athway over which the friars trod is now 
known as "el camino real," the king's highway. 

In regard to the mission inhabitants, they 
were all Indians, and in charge of priests, two 

(e) Some thirty years ago Isitlicr Cassova was in 
charge of the Monterey parish. In looking over some 
old records he found the register of the cleath of and 
burial of I'^ather Serra "on the gospel side." To prove 
tlie record correct, workmen were called. Digging at 
the recorded spot, they found the bodies of Fathers 
Serra, Crespi and Lasuen. The padre last named was 
tile successor of President Serra. 



FOLLOWING THE PADRES 23 

padres to each mission. In number thev varied, 
according to the zeal of the fathers in charge. 
For instance, La Soledad at one time had 493, 
San Antonio 1,046 and La Purissima 1,.500 men, 
women and children. 

To obtain converts the soldiers were sent out 
into the surrounding country to capture and 
drive in the wild Indians. On one occasion they 
were unsuccessful, (ieneral M. G. Vallejo was 
sent out with a company of soldiers to bring in 
a band of Indians. The savages, however, were 
commanded by a chief named Stanislaou, who 
was a runaway mission neophyte, and, making a 
severe fight on the Stanislaus river, Vallejo was 
compelled to retreat. 

Life in the mission was somewhat similar to 
that of the slave in the south. The padre was 
master and overseer and the Indian was obliged 
to go or come as he commanded. He was awak- 
ened at daylight and compelled to attend mass. 
Then breakfast was eaten. From sunrise until 
eleven o'clock the males labored in the fields, 
sowing or reaping grain ; in the orchards, culti- 
vating vines and fruit trees ; on the pasture 
lands guarding stock, and in the mission build- 
ings manufacturing clothing, blankets and vari- 
ous other goods. The women also labored, en- 
gaged in housework, making blankets, sheets, 
tablecloths and towels. After they labored until 
five o'clock the angelus bell rang out at sunset. 
For a moment the padres and Indians stood with 
heads bowed, then to church they hastened for 
evening prayers. 

The women of the mission were confined in a 
"mojerio." nunnery, and they were closely 
guarded by an old female Indian. The padres 
encouraged the marriage of the young girls to 
the soldiers. Hence it was that many of the 
dusky maidens married at a young age. twelve 
years, just to obtain their freedom. Every per- 
.son, Indian or Mexican, upon conversion was 
baptized. Each new born child was also bap- 
tized into the church and the name of every bap- 
tized person was placed upon the church register. 

In their splendid work for California the mis- 
sion fathers were prosperous and content. The 



24 MEN AXD EVENTS 

missions were not only self-supporting, but they 
exported hides, tallow and foodstuffs. Wine 
and brandy they also exported in considerable 
quantity, and in 1830 San Fernando mission 
alone manufactured 2,000 gallons each of brandy 
and wine. Their property was principally stock. 
But in 1826 the four missions. Soledad, San Juan 
Baptista, Carmelo and San Antonio, all now in 
Monterey county, had $136,000 worth of food- 
stufYs, 220,000 cattle, 18,000 horses, 45,000 hogs 
and 240.000 sheep. 

The independence of Mexico in 1821 sounded 
their death knell. The Mexican constitution de- 
clared the freedom of all .citizens, but the polit- 
ical i)ower of the church succeeded in keeping 
the missions intact until 1834. First the church 
and then the anti-church party ruled the govern- 
ment. In 1833, however, the anti-churchists, in 
power, passed a law secularizing the mission. 
'Jliey appointed as Governor of California Jose 
Figueroa, himself a half-Indian. Following his 
instructions in 1834, the mission Indians were 
given their freedom. 

With a.^tonishing rapidity the missions crum- 
bled. The buildings began their decay. The 
stock was stolen or wandered astray, and in a 
few years nothing was left save the fast falling 
walls, rotten timbers and broken tiles. This 
sudden destruction of California's first civiliza- 
tion may be shown by a single example, that of 
San Diego de Alcala. In 1831 the mission reg- 
ister recorded the names of 1,506 Indians. At 
that time the fathers had 1,196 horses, 8,822 head 
of cattle and 16,581 sheep. Twelve years later, 
1843, there was left not an Indian and 48 horses 
and 110 head of cattle. 

In that year the Mexican government sold the 
missions and the remaining mission property to 
private individuals at ridiculously low prices. 
'J4ie United States boundary commission of 1854, 
of which Edward M. Stanton, Secretary of State 
under President Lincoln, was a member, restored 
the mission churches and surrounding land to the 
Archbishop of the Catholic church, Joseph Ale- 
man v. 



*Ti 



-I s. 

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3 O 
n 3 

c 

3 3 



►1 « 

a2 



cr 




CALIFORNIA'S PASTORAL DAYS. 



1769-1834. 



Leading Events. 

Beginning of Civilization. 
Founding of Missions. 
Slavery of Indians. 
Priestly Rule. 

Crude Form of Government. 
Plenty of Food and Drink. 

Peace, Contentment and Happiness. 
Mexican Independence. 
Freedom of Indians. 

Agriculture and Horticulture. 



CHAPTER II. 

SPAIN COLONIZES CALIFORNIA. 

The King; of Spain had long desired a harbor 
on the western coast where the Manila galleons 
could obtain wood and water. When he learned 
of the discovery of San Francisco bay he com- 
manded that it be explored and that a presidio , 
be founded there. Lieutenant Ayala was direct- 
ed to explore the bay. Sailing from Monterey 
July 14. 1774, in the San Carlos, on the evening 
of the second day he entered the Golden Gate, 
(a) The ship was anchored off what is now 
known as Black Point. The party remained in 
the harbor nearly forty days, and Ayala explored 
the waters as far east as the mouth of the San 
Joaquin and Sacramento rivers (b). 

The presidio, or barracks, was to be the quar- 
ters of the soldiers and their families ; for it was 
decreed that all of the soldiers must be married 
men with families, healthy and robust , and 
likely to lead regular lives. Thus they would 
set a good example to the natives. They must 
be recruited in Mexico. Single maidens could 
accompany the soldiers, provided they were will- 
ing to marry the single soldiers and bring up 
families. 

Captain Anza was sent to Mexico to find re- 



(a) This was the first vessel to enter the San Fran- 
cisco harbor. Some years later the San Carlos was 
stranded on the mud flats of San Francisco bay, and 
in our time workmen digging at the corner of Clay 
and Battery streets found the old hull deeply em- 
bedded in the mud. Spikes from the old relic are now 
on exhibition in Golden Gate park museum. 

(b) These rivers were discovered in 1772 by Father 
Crespi and Lieutenant Fages. At this time they were 
walking along the Contra Costa shore looking for a 
crossing to Port San Francisco. 

29 



30 MEX AND EVENTS 

emits. He succeeded in persuading 207 soldiers 
and colonists to make California their future 
home. In October. 1775, they left Tubac, Mex- 
ico, and traveling overland, March 10, 1776, they 
arrived at Monterey. Several weeks later, start- 
ing June 17. Lieutenant Morgan in charge of 17 
soldiers, each with large families, together with 
seven married colonists, jcnirneyed to San Fran- 
cisco. They arrived June 27 and camped near 
:• spring of water, wdiich is now the corner of 
Howard and \ alencia streets. The following 
day the party moved to the bay shore to the 
point now known as Fort Mason. A fe,w days 
later the San Carlos arrived with supplies and 
building material. The following month, Sep- 
tember 17. the presidio was dedicated. The 
ceremony included the celebration of mass, ac- 
companied by cannon salutes 

Presidios were founded at dififerent places 
along the coast (c). They were so located as 
to protect the i)adres from Indian attacks, and 
also protect the coast from a foreign invasion. 
The presidio points were Los Angeles, Santa 
P)arl)ara, Monterey and San Francisco. Pueblos 
or towns were also established. They were 
located at the presidio points, also San Diego 
and San Jose. The pueblos were governed by 
certain rules and regulations prescribed by the 
King (d). 

California was an unknown paradise to all the 
world save the Spaniards until 1785. In that 
year the French di])lomat Jean dalaup de la Pe- 
rousc, in his exploring expedition around the 
world, arrived September 14 at Monterey. He 
remained ten days and was cordially received by 
the mission fathers. Several scientists accom- 
panied the expedition, and during that time they 



(c) The presidios were all built alike. The wails 
usually were built of adobe, twelve feet iu height and 
four feet in thickness. Their length and widtli was 
from 301) to 4UU feet. A cannon was planted at the 
corner of each of the four walls and at the onlj- en- 
trance a fifth cannon was set. Inside the inclosure 
family houses, a church, padres' home, storehouses and 
corrals for stock were built. 



SPAIN COLONIZES CALIFORNIA 31 

took copious notes of the flora and fauna of Mon- 
terey and sketches of the mission. 

Eight years later (November 14, 1792) 
George Vancouver, an Englishman, sailed into 
San Francisco bay. During his stay he visited 
the Santa Clara mission. He was the first for- 
eigner to travel that distance inland. A few 
weeks later he visited Monterey. Two years 
later he returned and was coldly received. The 
Spaniards wanted to know why he so quickh^ 
returned. 

The Russian ship Rurick, in command of Otto 
Kotsebue, touched at San Francisco October 2, 
1816. It was another world exploring party. 
One of the scientists, Johann Eschscholtz, dis- 
covered the golden poppy. It was named escli- 
scholtzia after its discoverer. It is now the state 
flower. 

In the latter part of the century the merchant- 
men and other vessels sailing in the north Pa- 
cific began touching at the California ports for 
wood and water. The first vessel to arrive was 
the United States man-of-war Otter, Captain 
Ebenezer Dorr. She carried six cannon and a 
crew of twenty-six men. Entering the port of 
Monterey, her captain was supplied with wood 
and water. When ready to sail he asked per- 
mission of Governor Borica to land eleven Eng- 
lish sailors who had secretly boarded his vessel 
at Botany bay, Australia. The Governor re- 
fused his consent. It was a violation of Spanish 
law to land any foreigners. The shrewd 
Yankee captain, however, that night forced the 
sailors at the point of a pistol to go ashore. He 



(d) Each colonist must live within the bounds of 
the pueblo, which was six miles square. The govern- 
ment provided him with a house, lot, farming land, 
seeds, agricultural implements, horses, mules and 
cows, two of each kind. The animals were pastured 
on common lands. In return the farmer paid the gov- 
ernment from the profits of his rancho. After the 
debt was paid he must sell his produce to the soldiers 
at a fair profit, if they wished to buy. Each colonist 
was compelled to build a house and irrigating ditches. 
He must do his part in working on the roads and 
streets, keeping them in condition for travel. He must 
hold himself in readiness at all times for military duty. 



32 MKX AXD EVENTS 

then speedily put to sea. Borica was very 
angry. Making the best of the situation, how- 
ever, he put the men to work as carpenters and 
l)lacksmiths. Their wages were 19 cents a day. 

Spain was at all times suspicious of foreigners 
and the Californians were prohibited from trad- 
ing with foreign vessels as an almost prohibitive 
custom house tax was imposed. This, however, 
did not prevent the custom house officers from 
receiving bribes, nor did it ])revent the citizens 
from secretly buying goods. The smuggling of 
all kinds of goods was extensively carried on 
under Ixith the Spanish and Mexican govern- 
ments. 

The first vessel to engage in this illegal traffic 
was the Alexander, Captain Brown. He entered 
San Diego harbor February 26, 1803, giving as 
his excuse his supply of water and wood was 
limited. The commandante gave him water and 
permission to cut wood, but he seemed to re- 
quire an extra large amount, for his men were 
eight days at work. During this time the cap- 
tain was also busy. With the natives he was 
exchanging goods for otter skins. He suc- 
ceeded in getting 490 fine ones. Then the cus- 
tom house officer caught him and confiscated 
the entire stock. The skins were stored in the 
government warehouse on the beach. Brown 
was ordered to leave the port. He sailed directly 
for San Francisco bay. The second ship entering 
that port was the Eliza, 1799, Captain Rowen. 

A few davs after the sailing of the Alexan- 
dria (March 17, 1803) the Lelia Byrd, Captain 
Shaler, entered the San Diego port. The cap- 
tain came for the express purpose of seizing the 
otter .skins taken from Captain Brown, Shaler 
having heard of the affair at San Bias. The 
Lelia Byrd, 175 tons, loaded with general mer- 
chandise, rounded Cape Horn, and, touching at 
the ports of Mexico, exchanged $10,000 worth 
of goods for 1,600 otter skins. 

The custom house officer with an escort of five 
soldiers boarded the vessel. The captain made 
known his wants, and the officer promised to 
furnish wood and water the following day. 
Rodriguez, the lieutenant, left the ship, leaving 



SPAIX COLONIZES CALIFORXIA 33 

the guard on board. Shaler in conversation 
with the sergeant, punctuating his remarks with 
coin, learned that over 1,000 skins lay in the 
warehouse exclusive of those taken from the 
Alexander. This was indeed a rich prize, and 
that night Shaler set out two boats to get the 
lay of the land. One of the boats, containing a 
mate and two sailors, was captured. The pris- 
oners, strongly bound, were left upon the beach 
under a guard of three dragoons. Early in the 
morning First Mate Cleveland, accompanied by 
four sailors, each armed with a brace of pistols, 
easily released their shipmates and rowed rapidly 
to the ship, which immediately set sail for the 
open sea, with the Spanish soldiers on board. 

The gunners at the fort, seeing that the enemy 
was about to escape, fired a 9-pound ball across 
the ship's bow. The ship then answered with 
a broadside from her 6-pounders. Cannon balls 
rattled lively in the rigging of the vessel, but 
she ran beyond the range of the battery without 
receiving any serious injury. The captain then 
landed the terrified guard upon the beach and 
put to sea. So happy were they because of their 
release, they shouted "V^ivas los Americanos!" 

(Hurrah for the Americans). 

The Russians, in 1803, crossing Behring straits, 
settled at Sitka, Alaska. The country was cold, 
barren and unproductive and the colonists came 
near starving to death. They were saved, how- 
ever, by the timely arrival of the American ship 
Juno, 206 tons, loaded with foodstuffs and other 
goods. The colonists bought the ship and 
cargo for $8,000 and the provisions gave them a 
partial relief. As Alaska was then a desolate, un- 
producing soil, the Russian Ambassador, Resa- 
noff, sailed to San Francisco in the Juno in 
April, 1803. His object was to open up trade 
with the Sj)aniards. As he entered San Fran- 
cisco bay. April 5, and attempted to sail past 
Fort San Joaquin, the sentinel on duty shouted 
in Spanish, "What ship?" "Russian," was the 
reply. "Let go your anchor!" "Si, senor; si, 
senor!" The wise captain ran out of range of 
the old cannon ; then he cast anchor. 



34 MEN AND EVENTS 

Tlic Ambassador was accompanied to San 
Francisco by the famous naturalist, Langsdorff. 
As the two men stepped from the boat to the 
shore they were received by Commandante Luis 
Arguello, with an escort of 20 dragoons, and 
Father Uria. Langsdorff, speaking in the Latin 
tongue, explained the mission of his party. This 
explanation was satisfactory to the command- 
ante. Later the Ambassador and his officers 
were entertained by Luis Arguello and his 
family. 

Governor Arrillaga at Monterey w^as immedi- 
ately informed of the presence of the Russians. 
He came up from the capital on horseback and 
in the French language greeted Resanofif. The 
trading proposition was discussed, and although 
Resanoff was a suave talker and a keen diplo- 
mat, he could not persuade the Governor to per- 
mit any violation of the Spanish law prohibiting 
trade with foreign nations. Even the clink of 
coin failed to swerve him from his duty. 

The Commandante Arguello was a close 
friend of the Governor. Learning this, the 
shrewd ambassador began making love to the 
Commandante's daughter, and succeeded in 
winning her hand in marriage. Through Ar- 
guello, Resanoff then succeeded with the Gov- 
ernor and an exchange of goods was permitted. 
Resanoff. unloading the cargo of the ship, took 
in exchange such goods as he required — beans, 
peas, tallow, butter, flour and wheat — $5,000 in 
value. Sailing from the harbor May 21, he fired 
a salute while passing the fort. The guns of the 
fort answered. 

Russia even in that early day had no fear of 
Spain, and in 1S09 a company of Russians, land- 
ing at Bodega bay, during a six months' hunting 
and trapping season obtained over 20,000 otter 
skins. Kuskoff, the leader, also explored the 
country with the object in view of establishing 
there a Russian settlement. In January, 1810, 
he again landed at Bodega, accompanied by 95 
Russians, 25 of them being mechanics of various 
trades. They erected log cabins and block- 
houses for defense, and lived there and flourished 
for thirty vears (e). At that time, September, 



SPAIN COLONIZES CALIFORNIA 35 

1841, they packed their household goods in ships 
and returned to their native land. They sold 
over $30,000 worth of property to John A. Sutter. 
In the collection was the famous Sutter cannon, 
now in the museum. Golden Gate park. 

We are now approaching that time when the 
Mexican nation will no longer shout "Hail to 
the King!" The last Spanish Governor was 
Lieutenant Pablo Vincente de Sola. He arrived 
at the capital, Monterey, August 30, 1815, and 
priests, soldiers and Indians came from all parts 
of the territory to welcome him. A celebration 
and reception was given him on the second day 
of his arrival. The twenty padres, forming in 
procession, marched from the mission to the 
presidio, led by native musicians and singers. 
On arrival the friars sang a "Te Deum" because 
of the safe voyage of the Governor from Mexico. 
Then followed a military review on the plaza. 
Sola then addressed the troops and w^as greeted 
with "Viva ! Viva los Sola !" 

The social reception was the most pleasing as 
the Governor was quite a "ladies' man." The 
women took charge of the executive mansion, 
a one-story adobe house, and as the Governor 
arrived he was welcomed by twenty young and 
pretty senoritas. Each girl in turn kissed the 
Governor's hand and received from him gifts 
of bon-bons. An address of welcome was then 
given by Dona Magdalena Estudillo, the wife 
of the commandante. The reception concluded 
with a feast. The tables were laden with various 



(e) General Marino G. Vallejo visited Fort Ross 
in 1833, bearing instructions from the Governor de- 
manding that the Russians leave the territory. He 
found a happy, prosperous community of nearly three 
liundred persons, men, women and cliildren. They en- 
joyed all the comforts of life, and, the high officials, its 
luxuries. They had e.xpensive furniture, a hne library, 
a piano, and the music of the best composers. The 
colonists raised all kinds of stock and fowl and har- 
vested wheat from 20,000 acres of fenced land. They 
had in bearing peach, cherry, prune and apple trees, 
also grape vines. They manufactured their own lum- 
ber with a pit and whipsaw, tanned their own leather, 
ground their own flour and made all kinds of iron 
tools. 



36 MEX AND EVENTS 

kinds of meats and game, olives from San Diego, 
oranges from San Gabriel, and the famous ''oven 
fruit" of San Antonio flour. The dishes were 
decorated with beautiful flowers from the gar- 
den of Felii)e (larcia. After the banquet the 
militia, dressed in full costume, ga\-e exhibitions 
of horsemanship. Then followed a bull and 
I'car fight. The festival ended with a grand ball 
in the commandante's house, tendered to the 
(iovernor by the ladies of Monterey. 

In September, 1821, Mexico declared her inde- 
pendence of Spain. She established an imperml 
government, and Iturbide was declared Empe- 
ror, to be hailed as Augustin I. The news of 
the change in gox'ernment was not known in 
California until February, 1822. The militia and 
the California junta (legislature) then assembled 
at Monterey and took the oath of allegiance to 
the new government. Then followed religious- 
services and a sermon by Father Padres. The 
evening closed with illuminations, the firing of 
salutes and cheers — "\'i\a la independencia 
Mejicana!" (Hurrah for the independence of 
Mexico). The citizens and the majority of the 
priests in mission and pueblo took the oath. 
Some padres, however, strong royalists, refused 
to take the oath of allegiance. They were ban- 
ished from the territory. 

Governor Sola, although he had boasted of his 
strong loyalty to Spain, turned traitor immedi- 
ately, and was rewarded. He was the first Mexi- 
can governor. His full name was Augustin Fer- 
nandez de San X'inccnte Sola. In .\ugust several 
flags of the new republic were l)rouglit to Cali- 
fornia by a high church official. Then the flag 
of Castile, whicli floated o\er the capitol and the 
custom house, was lowered and the standard of 
Mexico broken to the breeze The citizens and 
the militia again shouted 'A'iva la independen- 
cia! — \'i\a el l^mperor .\ugustin I!" It ended 
with a feast and a ball. Two years later the 
Mexicans dethroned their Emperor Iturbide and 
established a government similar in some re- 
spects to that of the United States. 




Reading from left to right: General Marino G. 
Vallejo; Mrs. Benicia Vallejo (after whom Benicia 
was named); ex-Governor Pio Pico and General 
Jose Castro. 



CHAPTER III. 

MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS. 

The Mexicans were intelligent enough to free 
their country from Spain, but they could not 
peacefully govern it. And during their twenty- 
five years' possession of California there w^as an 
almost continuous quarrel over ci\il and church 
affairs. 

One cause of trouble was the location of the 
capital. In February, 1825, the Imperial Con- 
gress appointed Jose Escheandia as Governor of 
Baja and Alta California. For convenience he 
selected San Diego as the capital seat. Monterey 
up to this time had always been the capital. 
When Luis Arguello, the retiring Governor, left 
Monterey to deliver the official documents to 
Escheandia he appointed no person as Governor. 
The council at Monterey, however, appointed 
Jose Estudillo Governor. There was a cjuarrel 
over the question of the capital, which continued 
for several months. The Congress then, to avoid 
all further dispute, appointed Manuel \''ictoria 
Governor. He selected Monterey as the capital 
seat. 

After a short time in power, however, he left 
California. Before his departure he appointed ex- 
Governor Escheandia as Governor. He returned 
to San Diego. Then Monterey rose up in arms. 
Ca])tain V. Zamaro of that pueblo raised a force 
and declared himself (lOvernor. Los Angeles 
now came into the tight. The "junta" of that 
town elected Pio Pico as Governor and congrat- 
ulated him on being "a son of the soil." Again, 
to settle the fight, the home s^oxcninient sent 
Jose Figueroa. Three years in t)ttice, Figueroa 
died at San Juan I'aptista mission on September 
29, 1S3.T. Before his death the dying official 
appointed General Jose Castro, of Monterey, 

38 



MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS 39 

Governor. The Los Angeles citizens refused to 
recognize Castro. Doing politics, they suc- 
ceeded in having their citizen. Nicholas Gut- 
terrez, appointed Governor. They also succeeded 
in having the Mexican Congress pass a lav^ that 
henceforth Los Angeles should be the capital of 
the territory. 

The Los Angeles Governor was driven out of 
the country by Juan Baptista Alvarado and his 
army from Monterey. Alvarado w^as then pro- 
claimed Governor. San Diego and Los An- 
geles, joining forces, revolted and proclaimed 
Carlos Carrillo Governor. He declared Los 
Angeles the capital. On the day of his inau- 
guration, December 6, 1837, salutes were fired 
from the big cannon brought over from San 
Gabriel. "The city," says Guinn, "was illumi- 
nated for three successive evenings. Cards of 
in^'itation were issued to the people of the sur- 
rounding country to attend the ceremony, they 
to be dressed as decently as possible." As the 
Governor took the oath of office the artillery 
thundered forth a salute and the bells rang out 
a merry peal: The Governor made a speech, 
then all attended church, where high mass was 
celebrated and the "Te Deum" sung. An inau- 
guration ball closed the celebration. Outside 
the ballroom the tallow dips flared and flickered 
from the portico, bonfires blazed in the streets 
and cannon boomed salvos from the old plaza. 

Then Alvarado arose in his wrath and 
charged upon the happy Los Angeles people. 
He had as his assistants Jose Castro and Pio 
Pico, two of the best commanders in the terri- 
tory. Organizing an "army" of 200 men, by 
forced marches they soon reached Los Angeles 
and routed the enemy. Soon after the surrender 
of the pueblo, word was received that the su- 
preme government had appointed Alvarado as 
Governor. 

At this time the Mexican government became 
alarmed at the rapid increase of foreigners. To 
check this immigration General Jose Mitchelto- 
rena was sent to California with an army of 400 
men. They were recruited principally from the 
jails and streets of Mexico. 



40 ^FRX AXn KVKXTS 

Mitcheltorena came as Military Commandante 
and ("unernor of California. He landed at San 
Die^o September. 1842. On his march to Mon- 
terey he was given an ovation all along the rotate. 
Los Angeles paid him high honors, for the peo- 
ple believed the Governor would make that 
]Aieblo the capital. The national fiesta, Septem- 
i»er 16 (independence day), was postponed 
until his arrival. Then salutes were fired, 
speeches made and for three days the city was 
illuminated "that the peoj^le might gi\e exprcs- 
-^ion to the joy that should be felt by all patriots 
in acknowledging so worthy a ruler." The gen- 
eral remained in Los Angeles nearly a month. 
The citizens were glad to see him go, for his 
army of criminals had been committing all man- 
ner of thievery and other crimes. 

The citizens of Monterey submitted to the 
criminal acts of this vagabond army until No- 
vember, 1844. Then they arose in rebellion. 
They formed an organization with Pio Pico and 
Jose Castro as leaders. "Dri\e <iut the cholos !" 
was their battle cry. The (iovcrnor quieted the 
tumult and promised to ship the criminals from 
the territory. He broke his i)romise, however, 
when he learned that Captain John A. Sutter 
with 100 men, the Sutter rifles, were coming to 
his assistance. Sutter, leaving the fort with his 
company January 1, 1845, joined the Mitchel- 
torena forces near the Salinas river. Marching 
south near the Cahuenga pass. February 28 they 
were confronted by General Castro. Each gen- 
eral was in command of about 400 men, includ- 
ing many foreigners. The leading Americans 
I^ersuaded all of the foreigners to withdraw from 
the fight. This so crippled Mitcheltorena's army 
that after six hours' cannonading, in which no 
one \va< injured, he surrendered. A few weeks 
later Mitcheltorena and his 200 men were ban- 
ished from California. They marched from Los 
.\ngeles to San Pedro "with all the honors of 
war, trumpets playing and drums beating.' and 
embarked on the American brig Don Quixote. 
The citizens paid the captain. John Paty, 
$10,000 to carry the "army" to Mexico. 

The cause of Mitcheltorena's banishment was 



MEXrCAX CALTFORXJA E\'ICXTS 41 

his encourag^ement and the importation of crimi- 
nals into California. That was not the first time 
that the government had sent criminals into the 
territory, and the citizens were determined to 
resent it. As early as 1816 a band of pirates 
luirned and pillaged Monterey. The Governor, 
Pablo de Sola, had not sufficient soldiers to de- 
fend the capital, and the following year he re- 
quested the government t(^ send him troops. 
Mexico sent him soldiers recruited from the 
lowest class of population. Sola shipped them 
back to Mexico as soon as possible. In 1829 the 
Mexican Secretary of Justice advised that all 
con\-icted prisoners be deported to California 
m stead of \'era Cruz. Carrying out that advice, 
in 1829, 130 criminals were sent into the terri- 
tor}'. 

Earl}- in the centur}- hunters and trappers 
began moving westward ; hunting and trapping, 
they opened a pathway over the trackless desert 
and blazed a way across the mountains into the 
great San Joaquin valley. Ofttimes they dis- 
covered safer and shorter routes of travel. In 
after years Kit Carson, Jim Beckworth, Jim 
Bridger and others acted as guides to immigrat- 
ing parties. The trappers opened up trails and 
tra\eled to California, some by way of Santa Fe, 
New Mexico; others followed along the Platte 
river. Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger, Salt Lake, 
the sink of the Humboldt, Truckee and Sutter's 
Fort. One at least, Joe Walker, entered Cali- 
fornia through the pass which bears his name. 

The first of these "men of the forest" to enter 
California was the trapper, Jedeid Smith. He 
arrived at San Diego in December, 1826, over 
the Santa Fe and Colorado route. Smith visited 
the settlement for a supply of food, and having 
no passport, he was arrested by Governor Es- 
cheandia as a spy. At the request of several 
foreigners he was released. The following year 
Smith was killed by Indians 

The same year, 1827, James Pattie, accom- 
panied by his son, a boy of 15 years, led a trap- 
ping party into California. A'isiting San Diego, 
Pattie and the boy were arrested as spies. 
\\'hile in ])rison the father died. The son on 



42 MEN AND EVENTS 

being released returned home. A minister, 
hearing a recital of the terrible suffering and 
hardships of the party, published a book. Presi- 
dent Monroe in his message to Congress gave a 
j-hort sketch of the trapper's life. Ewel Young, 
another well known trapper, in 1828 came into 
the territory in command of thirty men. Young 
returned in 1830. accompanied by the trapper. 
William Wolfskill, later one of the first fruit 
growers of Southern California. The party 
came from Santa Fe. They brought with 
them a large quantity of closely woven colored 
blankets, Mexican manufacture, which they pro- 
posed trading to the Indians for beaver and 
otter skins. 

The trappers were preceded by many for- 
eigners, who arrived in trading ships and whal- 
ing vessels. The first to arrive was the Scotch- 
man John Gilroy, after whom the town of (iilroy 
was named. Gilroy landed in 1814 from the brig 
Isaac Todd. He became a naturalized Mexican 
citizen, married a Spanish senorita and grew up 
with the country. Thomas Doak, arriving at 
Monterey in 1816. was the first American set- 
tler. There were fourteen foreigners in the 
country in 1822. coming from England, Ireland. 
Portugal, Scotland and America. This number 
included Robert Livermore, after whom Liver- 
more valley was named. 

Among these foreigners there«were a number 
of bright business men, who located in California 
for various causes. William Gale, an American, 
located at Monterey in 1821 for the purpose of 
opening a direct trade between Monterey and 
the Boston house of Bryan, Sturgis & Co. (a). 
This was the first foreign-established house in 
the territory. The next year, 1822, two English- 
men, W. E. P. Hartnell and William Richardson 
(b), the mate of a ship, located at Monterey. 
Hartnell came as the agent of the English firm, 
John P>egg & Co., with a branch house in Lima. 
I'eru. lie was a fine scholar and readily sjxike 
the l'",iiglish, Spanish and French languages. He 



(a) Up to this tiiiK- all merchant sliip.s lunched at 
Chinese ports hefore coniinu to California. 



MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS 43 

established a trading house and. marrying one of 
the Carrillos, raised a family of twenty-seven 
children. He was followed in 1824 by the second 
American trader, Jacob Lesse (c). He was the 
first house builder in Yerba Buena, San Francisco, 
and the father of the first white child born there. 
David Spence, the Scotchman, came to superin- 
tend the meat-packing establishment of Begg & 
Co., 1826. He was naturalized, married, ob- 
tained a large tract of land in Monterey county 
and held several go\-ernment offices. John 
Marsh, arriving overland in 1836, located on a 
grant at the foot of Mt. Diablo, the Devil's 
mountain (d). Pierre Sansevain, a French car- 
penter, in 1839 arrived direct from France. Years 
after he 1)ecame one of the leading vineyardists 
and winemakers of California. In that year, 
1839, W. D. M. Howard, after whom Howard 
street, San Francisco, was named, arrived by 
water, and John A. Sutter came overland. 

In 1840 there was considerable excitement in 
the western states regarding California. Many 
letters had been received by residents and the 
western press published articles and letters re- 
garding the land beyond the Rockies. They told 
of the warm climate, the fertile soil and the land 
free of cost. It created a desire among the ever 
restless rovers to emigrate to the far west. One 
of the first parties to cross the plains was the 
Captain Bartelson company of 32 persons. It 
included Mrs. Benjamin Kelsey and her child, 



(b) William Richardson became a naturalized citi- 
zen and married into a prominent Spanish family. He 
opened up a general merchandising business, but in 
1833 he removed to Yerba Buena (good herb). His 
reason for the removal, Governor Figueroa made him a 
warden of that port. Richardson was also given a 
pueblo lot, 100 varas square. A vara is 33 1-3 feet. 
Richardson selected a lot on Dupont, now Grant street, 
midway between Clay and Washington. He carried 
on an extensive business, exchanging goods for hides, 
tallow and furs. Whaling ships now began entering 
the harbor in large numbers. Thej- anchored in what 
is known as Richardson bay. The enterprising Eng- 
lishman removed to that point, and purchasing two 
sailing vessels of the mission fathers, began an ex- 
tensive business with the whaling ships. 



44 MEX AND EVENTS 

Jdsiali lielding-, later judge of Santa Clara 
eounty ; John Bidwell, founder of Chico and 
later nominee for Governor and for President 
of the United States, and Charles M. Weber. 
founder of Stockton. The party left Kansas 
May 18, 1842. They reached 'John Marsh's 
rancho November 4. Then followed the ]. B. 
Chiles party of 184vS. It comprised 28 i)ersons. 
male, female and children, and included Samuel 
j. Hensley, who became prominent as a steam- 
boat owner and San Jose capitalist, also Pierson 
B. Reading. In 1844 there was an immigrati(ni 
of 36 persons to California from Oregon. In 
that same year Elijah Stevens brought overland 
a ])arty of 50, including the famous Murphy fam- 
ily of San Jose. 

In 1846 the tide of immigration was moving 
towards the Pacific coast and, says Bancroft, 
"from May to July some 2,000 emigrants with 
about 500 teams of oxen, mules and horses 
plodded their way over the plains l)etween Inde- 



(c) Jacob Leese iirst began business in Los An- 
i^clos. Governor Chico and many ship captains ad- 
\iscd him to remove to Yerba Buena, and in 1836 he 
located there. Selecting a lot 200 varas square on 
the southwest corner of tlie streets now known as 
Clay and Grant, he erected a small one-story building 
from lumber shipped from Santa Cruz. It was the 
first wood-built structure in California. It was com- 
Ijleted July 4, 1836, and in it was held the first 4th of 
July celebration. Upon one end of the roof floated 
the stars and stripes, and upon the opposite gable 
fluttered the Mexican standard. About sixty persons 
from across San Francisco bay came to the celebra- 
tion. Leese provided a dinner and the event closed 
with a dance, which continued throughout the follow- 
ing day. Wliilc in Santa Cruz Leese met the sister 
of (leneral Vallejo and .April 7, 1837, they were mar- 
rieil. The following j'ear at Yerba Buena, April 14. 
1838, a daugliter was born, Rosalie, the first wliitc 
cliild in California. 

The merchant was doing a $12,000 business and for 
accommodatif)n he now erected a two-story liuilding. 
He also took in ;l^ iiartners William Hinckley and Xa- 
than Spear. After the gold discovery Leese, visiting 
China, purchased a costly lot of China goods and in 
the bay town opened up a magnificent bazaar. He 
l)uilt the Iirst wharf at the spot known as Clark's point. 
Later he established a line of steamers between S'crlia 
lUiena, China and Japan. 



MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS 45 

l)endence, Missouri, Fort Laramie and Fort 
Bridger." Some were traveling to Oregon, 
others were bound for California. Among those 
traveling to California was the Donner party, 
comprising a company of ninety persons, over 
one-half being families. George Donner, the 
captain of the train, was quite wealthy, and, with 
an eye for business, he was carrying a stock of 
merchandise to California to be placed on sale. 
The company left the frontier. Independence (e), 
Missouri, in the spring of 1846. As they jour- 
neyed along, other emigrants joined their train 
as a protection against Indians. At one period 
the train was over two miles in length, and con- 
sisted of some 200 wagons and about 500 per- 
sons. The train divided July 22, about one-half 
turning north for Oregon. 

On arrival at Wadsworth, now a railroad sta- 
tion, the Donner party was in a pitiful weak 
and starving condition. They had lost much 
time, twenty-two days, by the unfortunate mis- 
take of trying to pass through Hastings cut-off. 
The Indians had stolen many cattle and horses, 
and, leg-weary and weak from starvation, the 
animals could only travel slowly. Fortunately, 
at this time, however, William T. Stanton, ac- 
companied by two Indian guides, met the party 
with seven mules loaded with beef and flour, 
generously provided by Captain Sutter. Realiz- 
ing some weeks previous that the entire party 
would starve if relief were not obtained, Stanton 



(d) Regarding the origin of this peculiar name, 
there is an Indian legend and a Spanish story. The 
Indians said that many moons ago tire belched from 
the mountain top and the mountain split asunder. It 
is of volcanic formation, say the geologists. One day 
a party of Spaniards camped there. The devil came 
out to drive them away. They lassoed his majesty, 
but he wiggled out of the riatas and ran back into the 
hill. The Spaniards named it because of this event. 
El Diablo. 

(e) St. Louis and Independence were the two cities 
from which all emigrants started for the far west. 
Thousands of pioneers would gather there during the 
winter preceding their emigration and purchase goods, 
food, etc., for the long journe3^ These were known 
as the frontier towns. 



46 MEN AND EVENTS 

and William McCutcheon started for Sutter's 
fort. McCutcheon was taken sick and could not 
return. 

Arriving at what is now Reno, Nevada, they 
camped four days to rest. This was their most 
unfortunate mistake, for on arrival at Donner 
lake, October 30, that night two feet of snow 
fell. They tried to move out of the valley and 
failed. On the third night a heavy, blinding 
storm fell. The stock wandered away and per- 
ished in the drifting snow. The men succeeded 
in finding a few of the animals by means of long 
])oles. They were saved for food. 

For three weeks the party endeavored to leave 
its snow-bound prison. Every eftort left them 
weaker and less liable to succeed. Finally 14 
of the immigrants, known as the "forlorn" 
party, concluded to start for Sutter's fort and 
obtain assistance. The party included William 
Stanton and five mothers of families. They said 
the food supply would last a little longer if they 
were gone. They left the camp December 16 
on snow shoes which they had made. They tt)ok 
six days' supply of food only, this consisting of 
slices of beef, a little coffee and sugar. They suf- 
lered terrible hardships from cold and starvation. 
During a heavy storm they were compelled to 
lie buried between their blankets under the snow 
for thirty-six hours. Christmas day six of the 
band had died of cold, weakness and starvation, 
this including the brave and self-sacrificing 
Stanton, a bachelor, who had not a relative or 
kin in the party. The food supply had long since 
been eaten and they subsisted on human flesh 
and pieces of moccasin. Seven of the party on 
January 27, 1847, succeeded in reaching John- 
son's rancho. W^ord was sent to the fort that a 
party of immigrants was in a starving condition 
at Truckee Meadows. A relief party of trappers 
was immediately organized and with ])ack mules 
loaded with food they started for the lake. On 
arrival, February 19, they saw a terrible scene. 
The cabins were covered deep with snciw. With- 
in, many of the occupants were dead, and those 
alive, scarcely able to walk, were living on hu- 
man flesh, cattle bones and rawhide, softened in 



MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS 47 

boiling water. The party carried with them 
twenty of the survivors to the settlement. The 
second and third relief party brought out all but 
five. The fourth relief party found only one 
person alive. Ninety persons that eventful night 
camped on the shore of beautiful Lake Donner, 
so named after the party ; only forty-eight lived 
to see the settlements. General Stephen Kearny 
on his way east in 1847 camped at that spot and 
burned all of the evidence of that horril)le trag- 
edy. 

The most useful population immigrating to 
California at this time was the Mormons. 
Driven out of Nauvoo in 1845 because of their 
polygamous practices, they were seeking some 
place of rest. Thousands marched westward and 
located at Salt Lake. About 500 joined what 
was known as the "army of the west." Under 
the command of General Stephen Kearnv they 
left Council Bluffs July 20, 1846. Traveling by 
the Santa Fe route, they arrived at Warner's 
rancho, near San Diego, January 21, 1847. Ac- 
companying the battalion were nearly fifty wom- 
en. It was a march of great danger and suffer- 
ing. On several occasions the army came near 
starving to death. From Santa Fe the army was 
under the command of Colonel St. vCooke and ^ 
Lieutenant George Stoneman, in 188/ Governor 
of California. 

Another party of Mormons, comprising 70 
males, 68 females and 100 children, left New 
York February 4. 1846, in the 370-ton ship 
Brooklyn. They were in charge of Elder Sam- 
uel Brannan (f). The ship was loaded with 
everything necessary for founding a colony, such 
as agricultural implements, tools of every kind, 
.seeds and plants, the machinery for three flour 
mills and the complete newspaper plant of Bran- 
nan's New York paper, "The Prophet." After 
an uneventful voyage around Cape Horn, the 
Brooklyn anchored in San Francisco bay July 
31, after a ten days' stop at Honolulu. When 
the ship left New York war had not been de- 
clared, and they believed that they were going 
to Mexico, and when the Mormons saw the 
United States flag flying over the fort and the 






48 MEX AND EVENTS 

custom house they were bitterly (Hsappointed. 
Brannan is reported as exclaiming-, "There is 
that damned flag again !" 

This immigration was, as 1 have stated, of 
great benefit to the territory. They were all in- 
dustrious and of the hard-working class. If a 
pick and shovel man was wanted, there was a 
Mormon ready to do the work ; if a blacksmith. 
carpenter or painter, there was a handy man. 
The women were also industrious, and they did 
sewing, washing or housework. For a season 
the Mormons in Yerba Buena were in the ma- 
jority. At that time, 1847, William Leidsdorff 
gave a ball in honor of Commodore Stockton, 
and nearlv all of the women present were Mor- 
mons. 

Trouble with their leader, Brannan. soon after 
their arrival broke up the colony. Some trav- 
eled south and founded San Bernardino, making- 
it a beautiful town. Brigham Young in 1858 
called all of the faithful home to Zion. Selling- 
all of their i)roperty at a sacrifice, the\- returned 



(f) Sai-nviel llrannan, l)orii in Saco, Maine, in 1819, 
was a natural speculator, and early in life he traveled 
in every state of the Union, speculating in land. On 
arrival in San Francisco he immediately took the lead 
in every social, commercial, political and reformatory 
event. He surprised thousands of persons by his reck- 
less extravagance of money, his bold speculations, liis 
bravery in defying the criminal class and finally his 
dissipation, for he became a continuous boozer. He 
spent thousands of dollars for and with his friends, 
and died a ])auper, crippled and diseased, ahiiost alone, 
in Escondito, Ale.xico, May 7, 1889. 

His enterprises were many. He established a store 
at Coloma, founded a colony on the Stanislaus river, 
built two Hour mills, engaged in the China trade (1849), 
purchased a large number of San Francisco lots and 
built liouses upon them. "They were distinguished for 
their strength and magnil'icence.''' said the .\nnals, "and 
formed some of the most striking and beautiful fea- 
tures of the city." In tliat same year, 1851, he visited 
tlie Sandwich islands, bought land and l>uilt houses, 
lie gave liberally to churches, schools, individuals and 
various cliarities. He imported breeds of sheep and 
l)lo()dcd horses, reclaimed tule lands, invested in rail- 
rf)ad, telegrapli and express company stock, stimu- 
lated small farming, opened Calistoga springs, Sonoma 
countv, as a health resort. 



MEXICAN CALIFORNIA EVENTS 49 

to Utah. Quite a number of colonists under 
Brannan's direction founded a settlement on the 
Stanislaus river, which they called New Hope. 
They built a sawmill, cabins and fences and 
planted 80 acres of grain. They irrigated it in 
ditches from the river water. They soon quar- 
reled, however, and abandoning the place, in 
1851 returned to Salt Lake. 




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CHAPTER IV. 

THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST. 

The American immigration to California was 
no chance movement, but a well understood 
scheme to colonize the land and make of it an 
independent territory like Texas, or at the proper 
time assist the United States in its acquisition. 

It was well known that the South desired Cali- 
fornia, and the government, says Rhodes, was 
"goading on to war" the Mexican nation. The 
object of the war was aptly explained by Lowell 
in his Biglow Papers : 

"They just wanted this Calif orny 
So's to lug new slave states in, 
To abuse ye and to scorn ye, 
And to plunder ye like sin." 

The United States was not alone- in this de- 
sire for Mexican domain. France had upon this 
coast eight naval vessels, and her Vice Consul, 
M. Eugene Duflot de Mofras, declared "Califor- 
nia will belong to any nation that will take the 
trouble to send a ship of war and 200 soldiers." 
From 1842 until 1846 he remained in the terri- 
tory working in the interest of France. 

Did England desire to annex California? The 
Hudson Bay Company's agent, George Simpson, 
declared "San Francisco will, to a moral cer- 
tainty, sooner or later fall into the possession of 
the Americans unless England takes it." And 
England at that time, 1842, had four men-of-war 
cruising the Pacific waters. Each of these na- 
tions had a Pacific coast fleet superior to that of 
the United States, and for what purpose is not 
publicly known. The United States believed that 

51 



52 MEN AXD EVENTS 

they Had been sent to this coast to seize the ter- 
ritory as soon as Mexico declared war. 

In the spring of 1842 Commodore Ap Catesby 
Jones in command of five vessels of war was 
lying at Callao, Peru, "awaiting events." His 
instructions from the government were to imme- 
diately sail and seize California if Avar be c^eclared 
between Mexico and the United States. 

He was cut off from all communication with 
Washington, and he had no means of knowing 
if war be declared except by reports. Early in 
September, however, he believed the fight was 
on. Sailing September 7, on October 19 he an- 
chored in Monterey bay. 

The following morning 150 marines landed 
on the beach and took possession of the pueblo. 
The Mexican flag was lowered and the stars and 
stripes broken to the breeze. Commodore Jones 
then issued his proclamation. It was read to 
the people in English, then in the Spanish lan- 
guage. 

The following day Jones learned that all of 
the newspaper reports were untrue. Neither 
Thomas O. Larkin nor any of the Mexicans had 
heard of any war. The Commodore, now believ- 
ing that he had been over hasty, ordered the 
marines to again board the ships. The Mexicans 
again raised aloft their flag. Jones, firing a sa- 
lute to the Mexican standard, October 21 sailed 
from the harbor. 

After the Monterey affair the Californians be- 
came very suspicious of the Americans, and 
when, in January, 1846, Captain John C. Eremont 
appeared at Monterey dressed in the full uniform 
of a United States officer. General C'astro in- 
quired his business. Fremont replied that he 
was engaged in an exploring (a) expedition. His 
men were on the frontier of the department. 



(a) Fremont's explorers comprised sixty rough, 
hardy pathfinders, together with twelve Delaware In- 
dians. The men were all dead rilie shots. Each man 
was armed with a tomahawk, two pistols and a riile. 
They were led by the famous scout, Christopher (Kit) 
Carson. 



THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST 53 

They were out of supplies, and he had come to 
])urchase food and clothing'. 

Fremont asked permission, which was granted, 
to winter his men and animals in the San Joa- 
quin valley. Two months later Castro was sur- 
prised to learn that Fremont and his "explorers" 
were camped at Hartnell's rancho, in the Salinas 
valley, Monterey. A messenger from General 
Castro the following day commanded Fremont 
to leave the department, such being the orders 
of the supreme government. 

Instead of complying with the request, Fre- 
mont rode to the summit of the Gabrilian moun- 
tains. Selecting a good location near Hawk's 
peak, he erected a strong earthen fortification 
and raised "Old Glory" and awaited events. 

General Castro at San Juan raised a company 
of some 200 horsemen. They maneuvered back 
and forth over the plains in sight of Fremont's 
command, loading and firing three pieces of can- 
non. They made no movement towards attack- 
ing the camp. As Bancroft states, "it would 
have been foolish for Castro to lead his men up 
the steep sides of Gabrilian peak against a force 
of 60 expert riflemen, protected by a barrier of 
earth and logs." 

Fremont remained in camp until the night of 
March 9. He then began his march for Oregon. 
While in camp on Lake Klamath he was much 
surprised late one evening to receive private dis- 
patches from Washington. The bearer, Archi- 
bald Gillespie, had come direct from the seat of 
government. What were these dispatches? The 
public has never learned. They were of suffi- 
cient importance, however, to cause Fremont to 
retrace his steps. May 28 he was in camp at the 
Marysville buttes, just north of Sutter's fort. 

On arrival Fremont found the settlers in that 
vicinity were greatly excited over the report 
that General Castro intended to drive all of the 
Americans from the country. A second rumor 
r>aid that he had instigated the Indians to massa- 
cre all of the families and burn all of the crops. 
This was indeed alarming news, but it was not 
true. 

For some time previous the trappers in that 



54 MEN AND EVENTS 

vicinity had been talking of making California 
an independent territory. Many of them were 
daring, reckless men, anxious for a fight, and 
they declared it a good time to seize Sonoma 
and declare their independence of Mexico. Un- 
der the command of Merritt. who had been 
elected captain, the party left the buttes at mid- 
rjight, June 14, 1846, and at dawn the following 
day they reached the pueblo. The number had 
increased to 32, and Robert Semple declared "all 
of them dressed in leather hunting shirts, many 
of them very greasy and as rough a looking set 
of men as one could imagine." 

The Merritt company easily captured the 
town. Then, quietly surrounding the home of 
General Vallejo about daylight, four of the 
party entered the house and took M. G. Vallejo, 
Victor Prudon and Salvator Vallejo prisoners. 
The general, with his accustomed liberality, 
brought out his finest wines and liquors, and 
soon the entire party was sleepy drunk (b). 
Later Jacob Leese was arrested and all of the 
prisoners were taken to Sutter's fort. 

Some of the party became much alarmed when 
they learned that Fremont had not commanded 
the capture of Sonoma. They wanted to retreat 
and fly with their families into the mountains, 
fearing the vengeance of the Mexicans. Then the 
hero of the occasion, William Ide, arose. He 
defied the enemy (c). His bravery gave encour- 
agement to his companions and they elected Ide 
captain. The town was then fortified, the bear 
flag manufactured (d) and with cheers it was 
raised upon the Mexican flagstafif. That night 



(b) In writing of this aflfair Ide said: "As he en- 
tered the house, there sat Dr. Semple, just modifying 
a long string of articles of capitulation. There sat 
Ezekiel Merritt, his head fallen; there sat Wm. Knight, 
no longer able to interpret, and there sat our new 
captain, Grigsby, as mute as the seat he sat upon. 
The bottles had well nigh vanquished the captors." 

(c) Ide shouted, "Saddle no horse for me. I will 
lay my bones here before I will take upon myself 
the ignominy of commencing an honorable work and 
then fleeing like a coward, like a thief, when no enemy 
is in sight. We are robbers or we must conquer." 



THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST 55 

Ide wrote his famous proclamation, and it was 
sent all along the coast. 

Some time after this William Todd, who was 
going to Yerba Buena on business, was taken 
prisoner by the Mexicans. As soon as the set- 
tlers learned of his capture a party of 19 picked 
men were selected to effect his rescue. Unex- 
pectedly the company under the command of 
Lieutenant Ford came upon a body of 60 Mexi- 
cans under the command of Lieutenant Joaquin 
de la Torre near San Rafael. The Californians 
charged upon the Mexicans. The trappers were 
dead shots. Eight riderless horses galloped over 
the plains. Torre's men then turned and fled at 
full speed. Ford's men quickly followed. In the 
running three more Mexicans fell dead. Two 
badly wounded fell from their saddles. The 
Americans found their companion in the camp 
uninjured. This was the first battle of the Mexi- 
co-California war. 

In the meantime very important events were 
taking place along the coast. Commodore John 
D. Sloat, who had been lying at Mazatlan in 
command of the Savannah, Cyane and Levant, 
left that port June 2, 1846 and, sailing to Monte- 
rey, July 7, took possession of the pueblo. As 
the fiag was raised over the custom house the 
man-of-war fired a salute of 21 guns. Word was 
sent to Captain Montgomery, then at Yerba 
Buena, to take possession of the place. Landing 
50 marines, they marched up to the custom house 
and, lowering the Mexican flag, broke to the 
breeze the starry banner (e). Flags were also 
sent to Sonoma and Sutter's fort. The courier 



(d) The flag was made of unbleached cotton cloth. 
A strip of red flannel about four inches in width was 
sewn lengthwise along the lower edge. In the upper 
left hand corner Wm. Todd with India ink outlined a 
grizzly bear; beneath the bear he painted the words, 
"California Republic." In commemoration of this 
event, June 14, 1914, a bear flag monument was un- 
veiled at Sonoma. 

(e) Montgomery street, San Francisco, was named 
after Captain Montgomery. Portsmouth square, 
where now stands the Stevenson monument, was named 
after Montgomery's flagship Portsmouth. 



56 MEN AND EVENTS 

reached the fort just before dark. The next 
morning, July 12, "Old Glory" was flung to the 
breeze and given a salute of 21 guns. 

Commodore Sloat was relieved from duty July 
15 by the arrival of Commodore Robert F. Stock- 
ton in the famous man-of-war Congress. He was 
received with great enthusiasm. His fame was 
national and his exploits known throughout the 
world. He was a brave and conscientious com- 
mander, but extremely self conceited, hot headed 
and imprudent. He believed that force only 
could accomplish results; and refusing to listen 
to the peaceful measures proposed by the leading 
Americans, he caused the California war and 
blood was unnecessarily shed. 

The policy of the government was not in ac- 
cord with the actions of Stockton. Commodore 
Sloat declared when he took possession of Mon- 
terey : "I declare to the inhabitants * * * i 
do not come among them as an enemy ; * * * 
] come as their best friend * * * and its 
l)caceful citizens will enjoy the same rights and 
pri^■iIeges as those of other territories." Ban- 
croft, then Secretary of the Navy, wrote to Sloat, 
June 24, 1845: "You will be careful to preserve, 
if possi])le, the most friendly relations with the 
inhabitants." It was this same peace policy 
which the Americans such as Thomas O. Larkin, 
Charles M. Weber, John Marsh, Alexander 
Forbes and others were trying to adopt when 
they persuaded the Americans in the Castro and 
Mitcheltorena armies to withdraw. They pointed 
out the fact that if the settlers fought in the 
lactional fights they would make enemies of each 
side and thus destroy the peaceful settlement of 
the territory later on. General Castro was on 
the parade ground with his company when he 
learned of the capture of Monterey. Turning to 
his men, he exclaimed : "\\ hat can I do with 
a handful of men against the United States? All 
who wish to follow me, right about face ; I am 
going to Mexico." Later, changing his mind, he 
and Pio Pico fortified Los Angeles. 

When Commodore Stockton learned of Cas- 
tro's stand at Los Angeles, he immediately made 
preparations to capture the town. Fremont, who 



THE CALIFORXIA CONQUEST 57 

had come to Monterey from Sutter's fort with 
his battahon (f), was ordered to San Diego. He 
was to take that place, and marching north, meet 
Commodore Stockton near Los Angeles. Fre- 
mont sailed July 26 on the Cyane. 

The Commodore a week later, August 1, in 
the Congress with 350 marines and sailors, left 
for San Pedro. After a week of drilling land 
tactics, they began their thirty-mile march to 
Los Angeles. During the march messengers 
from Castro tried several times to eftect propo- 
sals of peace. Stockton, however, rejected all 
terms of peace. Then Castro tried a bluft, and 
sent word to Stockton that "if he marched upon 
the town he would find it the graves of his men." 
Then came the Commodore's laconic reply, 
"Tell the General to have the bells ready to toll, 
as I shall be there tomorrow." That night the 
Californians made a hasty retreat. The follow- 
ing afternoon, August 13, with band playing and 
colors flying. Commodore Stockton and Major 
Fremont entered Los Angeles, thus far not a 
man killed nor gun fired. 

A few days later Stockton declared the town 
under martial law (g). Leaving Captain Gil- 
lespie in command of fifty marines, the Commo- 
dore sailed for Yerba Buena. He was there re- 
ceived with distinguished honors, a procession, 
a collation and a ball forming part of the cele- 
bration. The ball took place in Leidsdorf^'s 
house, September 8, 1846, and it was the first 



(f) Walter Colton in describing this cavalcade as 
they entered Monterey says: "Fremont riding ahead, 
dressed in a blouse, leggins and felt hat, was followed 
by his men, riding two and two, the rifle held in one 
hand across the pommel of the saddle. Their dress 
was a long loose coat of deerskin, tied in front with 
thongs, with pants of the same material. Their long 
knives, pistols and rifles glittered in the sunlight, 
while their untrimmed locks, flowing out from under 
their foraging caps, and their black beards and white 
teeth gave them a wild, savage aspect. They were 
allowed no liquor and their discipline was very strict." 

(g) This law prohibited any of the inhabitants from 
carrying arms, and all persons must be in their houses 
from ten o'clock at night until sunrise in the morning. 



58 MEN AND EVENTS 

one under the stars and stripes. About 100 Mexi- 
cans and Americans were present, including the 
officers of the Portsmouth. 

The placing of the pueblo under martial law 
greatly angered the Californians. A revolt was 
started by General M. Flores, and over 300 Mexi- 
cans took a solemn oath not to lay down their 
arms until they had driven out "the accursed 
Americans." A few days later nearly 600 well- 
armed Mexicans surrounded the town and de- 
manded its surrender. As Gillespie was caught 
in a trap, with a few men only, and no supplies, 
September 30 he surrendered. He was permit- 
ted to march out with all honors. He retired to 
San Pedro. Before his surrender John Brown, 
an American, called by the Mexicans Juan Flaco 
(Lean John), succeeded in breaking through the 
Mexican lines. Riding with all speed to Yerba 
Buena he delivered to Commodore Stockton a 
dispatch from Gillespie. It was rolled in a cigar- 
ette paper and fastened in his hair (h). 

Immediately Captain Mervine in command of 
400 marines was ordered to Los Angeles. Land- 
ing at San Pedro, he began his march for the 
pueblo. Before traveling many miles he was at- 
tacked by over 200 Californians. A severe battle 
was fought. The result to the Americans was 
disastrous. They lost some fifteen or twenty 



(h) This life and death ride is one of the most re- 
markable on record. Juan Flaco rode the entire dis- 
tance from Los Angeles to San Francisco in six days, 
and with scarcely any rest. He left Los Angeles about 
eight o'clock at night, pursued by the Mexicans, who 
mortally wounded his horse. Carrying his spurs and 
reata in his hand, he traveled 27 miles and there ob- 
tained a second animal. Riding over rocky mountain 
pathways and swimming streams, he reached Monte- 
rey, says Colton, on the evening of the 29th. He had 
then ridden 460 miles in 52 hours. He expected to find 
Stockton at Monterey. Taking a little coffee only, and 
sleeping some three hours, he was up and away for 
Yerba Buena, 140 miles distant. Gillespie in the Los 
Angeles Star said, May 28, 1858: "Before sunrise on 
the 3()th Brown was hiding in the bushes in front of 
the Congress, waiting the arrival of the early market 
boat from the frigate. Before seven o'clock Commo- 
dore Stockton had the dispatches." 



THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST 59 

men and Mervine was compelled to retreat to the 
Cyane (i). A few days later Commodore Stock- 
ton arrived at San Pedro on his way to San 
Diego. He wisely concluded to continue on his 
course and retake Los Angeles from the south. 

As Stockton's future movements will end the 
California war, as briefly as possible we will re- 
view the events in central California. It was 
feared that the Flores revolt would incite the 
northern Mexicans to kill the settlers' families, 
and also the incoming immigrants. Scouts were 
sent out to inform the immigrants of the war be- 
tween the two nations, and guide them as quickly 
as possible to the Santa Clara and San Jose set- 
tlements. To guard the towns two companies 
were organized, Joseph Aram, an immigrant of 
1842, being in command at Santa Clara, and Cap- 
tain Charles M. Weber (j) of the San Jose volun- 
teers guarded that pueblo. 

While the company was out "rounding up" 
horses for Fremont's battalion, word was re- 
ceived by Captain Weber that Lieutenant Bart- 
lett (k) of the sloop Warren had been taken pris- 



(i) In this battle, Captain Weber informed me, the 
Mexicans fired copper bullets, and many of the ma- 
rines died in terrible agony. The day was very hot 
and over-heated, thirsty men, finding a barrel of 
aguardiente, a vile Mexican liquor, drank large quanti- 
ties of it and became beastly drunk. Many died from 
its effects. 

(j) Captain Charles M. Weber, a naturalized Ger- 
man, came to California in 1842. For several months 
he worked at Sutter's fort. In 1843 he opened a gen- 
eral merchandise store at San Jose, and also engaged 
in the cattle and horse raising business. His commer- 
cial relations with the Mexicans placed him on very 
friendly terms with them, and at one time General 
Castro offered to make Weber a captain of the Mexi- 
can militia. He refused, as he believed to be an Ameri- 
can was the highest honor that could be conferred. 
He also wished to avoid any troublesome alliances 
with the iMexicans, as he foresaw the trend of events. 
During the war Weber was commissioned as captain 
by Hull of the sloop Warren. He obtained a tract of 
land in the San Joaquin valley, there built the first 
house and founded Stockton. He named it after Com- 
modore Stockton. He was born in February, 1814, and 
died in May, 1881. 



60 MEN AND EVENTS 

oner by Francisco Sanchez. Captain Hull re- 
quested \\'eber to rescue Bartlett, if possible. 
As Sanchez had over 200 men under his com- 
mand, Captain Marston with a company of ma- 
rines and artillery was sent to assist the San 
Jose volunteers. Sanchez heard of the coming 
of the marines and anticipating an easy victory, 
he exclaimed : "Now we will have good Ameri- 
can rifles and overcoats." 

In a summer dry creek near Santa Clara grew 
a thick, heavy growth of mustard. It was im- 
])ossible to proceed except by roadway. The 
Californians made no attack until the marines 
entered the mustard patch. Then the Califor- 
nians made an assault, firing and then retreating 
around the hillside. This nearly demoralized the 
regulars. They could neither open fire, nor could 
they rapidly advance. Upon reaching the open 
ground a battle took place. After a two hours' 
fight Sanchez withdrew with four killed and four 
wounded. The Americans had only two wound- 
ed. This was the famous battle of Santa Clara 
(1), fought January 8. 1847. Sanchez was soon 
after taken prisoner. Lieutenant Washington A. 
Bartlett was found and he and his men were ex- 
changed for IVIexican i)risoners. Later Bartlett 
was mayor of San Francisco and Governor of 
California. 

We left Commodore Stockton on his way to 
San Diego. ( )n arrival he found himself in a 
])eculiar ])osition. He had no supplies, and the 
Californians would not sell anything to him. 
Hence he had to skirmish for food. While the 
men were engaged in making repairs, word was 
brought to Commodore Stockton that General 
Kearny wished to open communication with 
him. Ca])tain (iillespie with 26 men was or- 



(k) Bartlett with five men went on shore to pur- 
chase cattle for food. They were warned by the set- 
tlers to beware of the Mexicans, and soon fell into 
Sanchez's hands. 

(1) The women stood on the housetops at Santa 
Clara and anxiously watched the battle. After the 
battle the rep^ulars marched into the pueblo and were 
given a rousing reception and a dinner. 



THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST 61 

dered to meet Kearny, and that evening, Decem- 
ber 3, 1846, he left for Kearny's camp. 

In May, 1846, General Stephen A. Kearny was 
instructed by WilHam G. Marcy, Secretary of 
State, to organize what was known as the "Army 
of the West." This army was in two divisions, 
the Mormon battalion forming the first division. 
The second division comprised some 300 dra- 
goons. Leaving Fort Leavenworth July 6, 
1846, the dragoons arrived at Santa Fe in* Au- 
gust. The pueblo surrendered to Kearny with- 
out any resistance. Continuing on to California 
by way of the Rio Grande, he was surprised, Oc- 
tober 6, to meet Christopher Carson. The scout, 
accompanied by 15 men, was on his way to 
Washington, bearing dispatches from Commo- 
dore Stockton, then in Los Angeles. The dis- 
patches were sent on by Lieutenant Fitzpatrick. 
Carson was commanded to act as Kearny's guide 
to California. Two hundred dragoons were or- 
dered back to Santa Fe, as Carson stated that the 
California war was ended. 

A\'ith 100 dragoons and two mountain how- 
itzers Kearny rode on. The march was long and 
weary and men and animals almost starved. On 
arrival December 2 at Warner's rancho seven 
men alone ate a full-grown sheep, so hungry 
were they. 

Captain Gillespie, meeting General Kearny 
December 3 at the Santa Maria rancho, informed 
the General that a force of Californians were 
camped about seven miles away. Kearny was 
rashly anxious to rout the "stupid Mexicans," 
as he called them. Kit Carson strongly advised 
him not to make such a foolish attack, for his 
men and animals were in no condition to rout 
a strong body of mounted Californians. 

Kearny, like Stockton, was overly wise, and 
made his attack at dawn, December 6. Through- 
out the day they fought, and that night both 
sides rested. Kearny, however, had met with a 
heavy loss, two captains, four non-commissioned 
officers and twelve dragoons being killed. 

Early on the morning of December 7 he began 
his march for San Diego. The Mexicans now 
began a guerrilla warfare and during the day 



62 MEN AND EVENTS 

Kearny lost fi\e men. That night he camped 
on the San Bernardino river. The next day the 
Mexicans, now 230 strong (100 more having 
come from Los Angeles), made a furious charge. 
Kearny, retreating to the hills, found himself 
trapped. He w^as surrounded on all sides by 
Mexicans and the men could get neither food nor 
water for themselves or their animals. In the 
consultation regarding their situation. Carson 
declared "If we stay here we are all dead men," 
and he offered to go to San Diego for assistance. 
He was accompanied by Lieutenant Edward F. 
Beale and the two brave men that night started 
on foot on their dangerous journey. 

While they were absent the Mexicans at- 
tempted to drive a band of horses into the 
Kearny camp. Their object was to stampede, if 
possible, the animals of the camp. The effort 
tailed, but three fat horses were killed by the 
Americans, and "they formed, in the shape of 
gravy-soup, an agreeable substitute for the poor 
steaks of our own worked-down brutes, on which 
we had been feeding for a number of days." 

The Americans could not have withstood the 
siege very long, but fortunately Carson and 
Beale succeeded in reaching Stockton's camp, and 
December 11 Lieutenant Gray arrived in com- 
mand of 180 marines, with plenty of food and 
clothing. Kearny the following day resumed his 
march unmolested and December 12 he was cour- 
teously received by Commodore Stockton. 

The combined army now numbered nearly 600 
men. On December 29 they began their march 
for Los Angeles. At two points on the march 
while crossing the San Gabriel river and upon 
the "Plains of Mesa" the Mexicans, 600 in num- 
ber, tried to rout the troops. They were each 
time repulsed, the Americans losing three killed 
and nine wounded. The Mexican loss was nine 
killed and fourteen wounded. Stockton again 
took possession of Los Angeles January 10, 
1847, the Mexicans making no resistance. 

Two days later Lieutenant Colonel Fremont 
ended the California war 1)y his treaty of peace 
at Cahuenga. 
'.'After the war was over troops continued to 



THE CALIFORNIA CONQUEST 63 

arrive. In January, 1847, the Lexington an- 
chored at Monterey. She had on board company 
F, Third artillery. In the company were several 
notable men, among them Lieutenant William 
T. Sherman and Henry W. Halleck, both famous 
generals in the Civil war, and Private Benjamin 
Kooser, editor and newspaper proprietor for 
many years. The famous Stevenson regiment, 
numbering over 800 men, also arrived a few 
months later. The first ships to arrive were the 
Thomas Perkins, March 6; the Susan Drew, 
March 19; the Loo Choo, March 30, and the Bru- 
tus, April 2, 1847. In the following year, Feb- 
ruary, 1848, the ships Isabella and Sweden ar- 
rived. A lieutenant on the vessel last named 
was Colonel Thomas E. Ketcham. He was a 
colonel in the Civil war California Volunteers, 
and is now living in Stockton, 92 years of age. 

The population of California in 1842, as given 
by the Frenchman Duflot de Mofras, was about 
5,000, not including the Indians. He classified 
them as follows : 4,000 native sons or Califor- 
nians, 90 Mexicans, 90 Germans, Italians and 
Portuguese, 80 Spaniards, 80 Frenchmen and 
360 Scotchmen, Irishmen and Englishmen. Ban- 
croft says at the close of 1847 the population had 
increased to 14,000, the natives counting 6,000. 
The only pueblo with a population of any size 
was Yerba Buena. In August, 1847, Edward 
Gilbert, a lieutenant in Stevenson's regiment, 
found the population to be 459. Six months later, 
says the Annals, the population was nearly 900, 
with merchants, mechanics and professional men 
numbering 157. 

One of the leading firms of the town previous 
to 1846 was the Hudson Bay Company, an Eng- 
lish corporation dating back to 1808. Employing 
several thousand men, French-Canadians princi- 
pally, they trapped throughout Canada and Brit- 
ish Columbia, and as early as 1825 found their 
way into California. For several seasons they 
trapped and hunted in the San Joaquin valley, 
near Stockton. The Mexicans named the locality 
Campo de los Frances, "the camp of the French- 
men." 

Their headquarters were at Vancouver, Brit- 



64 AIEX AND EVENTS 

ish Columbia. In 1841 Sir James Douglas, com- 
ing from that point to Monterey, succeeded in 
establishing trade relations with the Mexicans, 
with headquarters at Yerba Buena. William 
Rae, a brother-in-law of Chief James McLaugh- 
lin, was sent to the bay to take charge of the 
new firm. Rae purchased the two-story Leese 
building. He was not a commercial success. 
He was, however, a good customer of John Bar- 
leycorn. After losing about $15,000, on January 
19, 1845, he shot and killed himself. His was 
the first inquest in San Francisco. The body was 
buried in the yard, and in 1854 uncovered by 
workmen digging a sewer. This was one of San 
Francisco's historic spots, as later the banking 
house of James King of William was located 
there. 



THE DAYS OF GOLD 

Leading Events. 



Discover}' of Gold 
A Riot of Crime 
Scarcity of Women 
Organization of State 
Founding of Religion 
Corruption of Politics 

Enforcement of Lynch Law 

Organization of Political Parties 
Religious and Fraternal Societies 
Mercantile and Commercial Activities 
Restless Condition of People 




Captain John A. Sutter 




John W. Marshall. 



CHAPTER V 
THE CRY OF GOLD 



The cry of gold, 

Around the world 

It rolled, 

And legions of men 

All young and bold 

Rushed to the Golden State. 



The battle of Molino del Rey closed the Mexi- 
can war. In the treaty signed at Guadalupe Hi- 
dalgo, February 2, 1848, Mexico ceded to the 
United States, for $18,000,000, all told, all of 
the territory then known as California. Bounded 
on the north by Oregon, the east by the Rocky 
mountains and the south by Mexico, it was a 
vast empire ; yes, it was greater than several em- 
pires combined. It was larger than Italy, Spain, 
Wales, Scotland and England, and as large as 
France, England and Germany. 

The accession of this vast domain caused 
great rejoicing throughout the South, for it gave 
the Southerners a new field for the extension of 
slavery — so they believed. The discovery of 
gold, however, destroyed all of their plans ; for 
in the rush of immigration there came thou- 
sands of those opposed to slavery. They or- 
ganized California as a free state. 

The man to ruin the slavery men's cherished 
hopes was the eccentric, unlearned immigrant, 
John W. Marshall (a). He was a volunteer in 
Fremont's battalion, and at the close of the war 
he visited Sutter's fort looking for work. Mar- 
shall was a good mechanic, and Sutter gave 
him a job making spinning wheels. Later he 

67 



68 MEN AND EVENTS 

sent Marshall into the mountains to find a good 
location for a sawmill. The employes selected 
a spot at the place now known as Coloma. Ox 
teams and men were sent to the place. In Jan- 
uary, 1848, the carpenters had partly completed 
the frame of the mill. A mill race was also dug 
and January 24th Marshall, accompanied by 
Wiedmer, while walking along the race noticed 
something shining in the sand. What it was 
they did not know, as they had never seen any 
gold. It was a very scarce metal in that day. 
After an unsuccessful attempt to break it they 
took a piece of the gold to Mrs. Wiedmer and 
asked her to boil it in salaratus \vater as a fur- 
ther test. She was making soap, and, throwing 
the gold into the boiler, the following morning 
it Avas fished out brighter than ever. Marshall, 
still doubtful, concluded to saddle his horse, ride 
to the fort and ask the Captain's opinion. Sut- 
ter was an oracle among the settlers. His wis- 
dom was certainly correct in this case. After 
testing it with acids and weighing it according 
to the formula in the encyclopedia, he declared 
it pure gold, 24 carats fine. Sutter was not sur- 
prised at the discovery, as gold in considerable 
quantities he knew had been found in other 
parts of the territory (b). 

Marshall, now greatly excited, hastily re- 
turned to the mill in a hca\y rain, although 
Sutter tried to persuade him to remain over 
night. Marshall on arrival found that Wiedmer's 
two little boys had found about four ounces of 
gold. He was very angry. He wanted to keep 



(a) John W. Marshall was born in New Jersey in 
1819. He learned the wheelwright trade. Immigrating 
to the west in 1845, he crossed the plains with his wife 
and children. Locating at Sonoma, he began raising 
horses and cattle. When the war broke ont he joined 
Fremont's battalion. In the gold rush he was entirely 
forgotten. He made no money by his discovery of 
gold, and later several legislatures voted him monthly 
pensions. Finally he was left alone. Idolizing the 
spot where he found gold, he built a little cabin and 
lived there until his death, May 10. 1885. Several 
years after his death, at a cost of $9,000, the state 
erected at Coloma a life-sized bronze statue of Mar- 
shall. 



THE CRY OF GOLD 69 

the discovery a secret. The laborers on the 
mill, mostly Mormons, soon learned the secret 
and began digging for gold. Marshall ordered 
them from the land, claiming that he owned it. 
Traveling down the river some 15 miles, they 
found plenty of gold. In less than six month's 
over 300 Mormons, with roughly constructed 
cradles, tin pans and Indian baskets, were av- 
eraging each man 8 ounces, $128, per day. The 
place took the name of Mormon Island. 

Mrs. John Wolfskill says : "Sam Brannan 
came riding breathless into our place in Benicia, 
and asked my husband for a fresh horse. He 
said that gold had been discovered and he was 
going up there to locate all the land he could 
and then go to Monterey and file on it." Sut- 
ter, however, was ahead of him. The Captain 
first made a treaty with the Culloch Indians. He 
then sent two couriers with specimens of gold 
to Monterey, with a request to give him (Sut- 
ter) a pre-emption claim on the land. The cour- 
iers showed Governor Mason the specimens, and 
Sherman declared it looked like Georgia gold. 
Mason refused the favor, saying he had no au- 
thority to dispose of Mexican lands. 

The news reached San Francisco some time in 
February. Parties at that time offered gold in 
payment for goods. The jewelers, testing it, 
pronounced it pure gold. The merchants' re- 



(b) It had been known for many years that gold 
existed in California. General Vallejo said that in 
1824 he saw a Russian digging gold in Kern county. 
A priest informed Wm. Davis, author of "Sixty Years 
in California," that Indians found gold in Sacramento 
valley in 1840. Mexican vaqueros in 1841 accidentally 
found gold on San Francisquito creek, near Los An- 
geles. The place was worked and over $6,000 worth of 
gold taken from the creek. It was gold dust, however, 
and sent east in payment for goods. The Philadelphia 
mint declared it pure gold. 

(c) The Indians with whom Sutter made his treaty 
were known as the Culloch tribe, hence the name 
Coloma. By the terms of the treaty Sutter agreed 
to give them food, clothes, ornaments and beads yearly 
to the value of $200. They in turn promised not to 
kill the stock or game nor burn the grass within the 
limits prescribed, 12 square miles. 




Sutter's Mill, Where Gold Was Discovered. 



THE CRY OF GOLD 71 

fused to accept it, believing it worthless. 
Finally they took the metal at a 50 per cent dis- 
count, and they added another 50 per cent to 
their selling price for good measure. The citi- 
zens also were skeptical. They declared the re- 
ported discovery was one of old Sutter's schemes 
to populate the wilderness. Day after day, how- 
ever, the gold rolled into Yerba Buena. At last 
they were forced to admit the truthfulness of the 
discovery. Then the merchants hurried to the 
mines. Seeing gold by the ton, they hurriedly 
returned to San Francisco, nailed up the doors 
and windows of their business houses and 
started for "Coloma. For several weeks launches 
were seen loaded with merchandise and house- 
hold goods, oft times the family sitting on top of 
the truck, sailing up the San Joaquin or Sacra- 
mento rivers. Some of the merchants intended 
opening stores, others to dig for gold. 

The two newspapers of Yerba Buena, the 
Californian and the Star, changed their opinion 
in less than 60 days regarding the discovery. 
In a two line article March 5th, the Californian 
said : "Gold dust is an article of traffic at New 
Helvetia, Sutter's fort." Then it declared the 
discovery a humbug. Two months later, how- 
ever, the proprietor published a small extra, say- 
ing "the editors, the printers, even the devil 
himself has gone to the mines. The whole coun- 
try from San Francisco to Los Angeles resounds 
to the cry of gold, gold, gold !" In September 
the same paper said: "Explorations have been 
made sufficient to prove that gold was to be 
found on both sides of the Sierras from latitude 
41 as far south as the waters of the San Joaquin, 
a distance of 400 miles in length and 100 miles 
in width." 

The men from the fort on their way to Mon- 
terey stopped overnight at Tuleberg, now 
Stockton. This was the half-way point between 
the fort and the pueblo of San Jose. Sutter in- 
structed the men to keep secret their mission, 
but they informed the settlers of the discovery 
and showed them specimens of the gold. The 
trappers, much excited, under Captain Charles 
M. Weber's direction, organized the Stockton 



72 MEN AND EVENTS 

Mining Company. It was the first corporation 
in the territory Procuring picks, shovels and 
food supplies from Weber's general merchandise 
store, they traveled to Coloma, and locating 
on Weber's creek, began mining and trading 
with the Indians. They obtained "banks of 
gold." Wm. H. Carson declared "they daily sent 
out to the settlements mules loaded with gold." 
H-all. the San Jose historian, further declares that 
in December, 1849, Daniel Murphy, one of the 
partners, had as his profits for one year $2,000,- 
000 in gold. 

News did not then, as now, flash over the land 
in a second, and the discovery was not known 
along the South California coast until the mid- 
dle of May. In Monterey the news greatly ex- 
cited the population. Merchandise, horses and 
wagons immediately advanced 500 per cent in 
price. They were quickly purchased, however, 
and the buyers hurried to the mines. When the 
teams were all sold, the citizens started for the 
mines on foot, their blankets on their backs. 
They also hastened, fearing that the gold would 
all be dug before their arrival. The town was 
depopulated and, said Walter Colton (d) in his 
diary, June 20th, "I have only a community of 
women left and a gang of prisoners." The old 
San Jose settlers laughed at the report. They 
declared it foolish, the rumor of so much gold 
being found. When they saw their fellow citi- 
zens returning week after week, actually loaded 
with gold, they also caught the fever and has- 
tened to the gold fields. San Jose was soon de- 
populated, and it was feared that the Mexicans 
would organize and destroy the pueblo. 

Governor Mason as a United States officer be- 
lieved it his duty to visit Coloma and report to 
Washington the extent and value of the wonder- 
ful discovery. Accompanied by Lieutenant, later 
General, Wm. T. Sherman and four soldiers, 
June 7th he left Monterey and rode horseback to 



(d) Walter Colton as alcalde was the first official 
in California to empanel a jurj'. He was also the first 
architect, he planning and building Colton Iiall. 



THE CRY OF GOLD 11 

San Francisco. Crossing the Ijay to Sausalito, 
swimming their horses, they traveled to the 
mines. All along the road the Governor found 
the mills idle, the houses unoccupied, the grain 
fields overrun with stock and the gardens in 
ruins. At Coloma he saw 4,000 men, all digging 
for gold, and taking, per month, from the river 
bed from $50,000 to $100,000. Their only tools 
were butcher knives, shovels and shallow pans. 
Two miners finding a "pocket" of gold in Weber 
creek cleared up $17,000 in one week. The In- 
dians working for John Sinclair brought in $19,- 
000 in ten days (e). 

Satisfied regarding the richness of the gold 
mines. Governor Mason sent Lieutenant Loser 
with dispatches to President Polk. He took with 
him an oyster can filled with gold nuggets. The 
Lieutenant was instructed to reach the capital 
before the assembling of the thirtieth congress, 
so that the President could announce the discov- 
ery in his annual message. He failed to reach 
Washington in time, because of many delays 
(f), but on arrival at New Orleans he tele- 
graphed the President. The following day, No- 
vember 24th, the news of the gold discovery was 
published in the New Orleans Commercial 
Times. 

The gold from the mines of California revo- 
lutionized the finances of the world. At that 
time the gold production was exceedingly lim- 
ited and financiers were seeking for some means 



(e) The Indians at first had not the slightest idea 
of the value of gold. They willingly worked and dug 
gold for food, clothes, flimsy trinkets and beads, which 
they prized highly. John Swain of Monterey relates 
that, taking from his store a quantity of beads, he 
traded them to the Indians for gold nuggets. The beads 
were worth 25c, the gold $100. Joaquin Miller, later 
the California poet, says that on one occasion an Indian 
gave $25,000 worth of gold for some glass beads worth 
SO cents. 

(f) At this time there was no direct communication 
with the east. Hence Lieutenant Loser was compelled 
to sail from Monterey to Payta, Peru; from Payta he 
took an English steamer to Panama; crossing the 
isthmus, he sailed to Kingston, Jamaica, and from there 
by vessel to New Orleans. 



74 MEN AND EVENTS 

of commercial exchange. The gold output has 
been so enormous it is impossible to give its 
value. From 1847 up to and including 1901 the 
custom house reported an exportation of $1,345.- 
512,689. This is a part only, for there is no rec- 
ord of the millions of dollars carried from the 
state by miners in trunks, tin cans, boxes and 
in gold belts (g). The largest known amount 
taken from the mines in one year was that of 
1854, $69,433,512. From that time on the 
amount gradually decreased until from fifteen to 
thirty millions a year was the limit. The aver- 
age annual amount, however, for the first 53 
years was $25,387,032. Of late years dredger 
mining has kept the average yearly product at 
$20,000,000. 



(g) These gold belts were made for the purpose of 
carrying gold dust. The material was buckskin, and 
they were usually fastened around the naked body just 
above the hips. In this way the gold dust was hidden, 
and a large, strong man could easily carry $3,CX30 worth 
of gold without inconvenience. There were no gold 
notes in those days, nor paper money of any denomi- 
nation. 



CHAPTER YI. 

ON TO CALIFORNIA. 

The news of gold in California was carried 
along- the coast as far south as Peru, then to 
Australia, Manila, China and Japan. The first 
foreign port to learn of the discovery was Manila. 
The captain of the ship Rohne succeeded (a) in 
sailing from San Francisco for the Philippines 
early in the spring of 1848. The schooner Louise 
carried the news to Honolulu June 17, 1848. She 
also carried a few specimens of gold. The Polyne- 
sian published the news June 24 and immediately 
freight and passenger rates rapidly advanced. In 
less than five months over 300 natives, "Kana- 
kas," as the pioneers called them, sailed for San 
Francisco. Australia also heard the news in 
June. The streets of the principal cities were 
billed with posters announcing in big headlines 
"Gold in California." In a short time it was 
difficult to obtain passage on the many ships 
that were bound for San Francisco. Many of the 
emigrants were "Sydney Ducks" and "Botany 
Bay" convicts. They caused an endless amount 
of trouble. Canton, China, learned of the dis- 
covery in October, 1849. In February of that 
year fifty-four Chinamen arrived. Before the 
close of 1850, 4,000 Chinese had landed, all 
bound for the mines. 

Oregon in July, 1848, first heard the news. 
They did not believe it. Later a second vessel 



(a) When the sailors on board the merchantmen 
in San Francisco harbor heard of the gold discovery 
they immediately deserted and started for the mines. 
It was very difficult to get sailors. The captain of 
the ship Rohne, however, bound for Manila, succeeded 
in getting a crew, he agreeing to pay them $200 per 
month. 

75 



76 ^rEX AXD KVHXTS 

arrived. They imt only coiihrmed the first re- 
port. l)Ut they had a copy of the Cahfornia Star 
containing a full account of the discovery. An 
overland party just from "the diggin's," they 
said, rode into Oregon. They had specimens of 
gold and they declared that "the rivers were full 
of gold." The news thrilled the inhabitants. 
The people went wild, abandoned farms, houses, 
stock and everything and rushed away to the 
gold fields (b), over 6,000 of Oregon's population 
emigrating inside of a year (c). 

The gold excitement was not confined to the 
western coast. Upon the Atlantic shore the agi- 
tation was equally great, as in a short time the 
people believed the exaggerated reports that 
California's "streams were rivers of gold" and 
that it "sparkled in her coronet of cliffs." The 
papers were filled with the news of gold (d) 
and everywhere the conversation was upon that 
subject. The ])ulpits discoursed upon the evils 
of gold, and as soon as possible the preachers 
started for California. A song composed upon 
this subject when sung in concert or theater 
was loudly applauded (e), long after the author, 
loiiathaii Xicliols, had started for California. 



(b) Peter Burnett, later California's first gov- 
ernor, standing on the streets of Oregon City, pro- 
posed the immediate organization of a company to 
emigrate to California. It met with a quick response 
and eight days later, September 1st, 150 men in wagons 
drawn l)y o.xen and horses started for Coloma. In 
.\ovember thej' reached Long's bar and there, camp- 
ing, began mining. 

(c) 'I think," said Burnett, "that fully two-thirds 
of the population of Oregon capable of bearing arms 
left for California in the summer and fall of 1848." 
The Oregon SiJcctator affirming the same report, said 
"almost the entire male and a part of the female popu- 
lation of Oregon has gone gold digging in California." 

(d) The first paper to publish the news was the 
Baltimore Sun, they receiving a letter September 20, 
1848, from their California correspondent, B. P. Koo- 
ser. About the same time Bennett of the New York 
Herald received a vial of gold, 10>4 grains, from 
Thomas O. Larkin. On receiving it Bennett ex- 
claimed, "Let us see if this be gold." An assayer 
tested it and declared it was almost pure gold, 21 J^ 
carats fine. 



78 MEN AND EVENTS 

In November, 1848, the movement of vessels 
first began. In December, says Bancroft, "it 
had attained the dimension of a rush." All of 
the eastern ports sent out their quota of ships, 
and in December, 1848, and January, 1849, sixty- 
one vessels left for California, each vessel aver- 
aging fifty passengers. In February, 1849, sixty 
ships sailed from Newr York and seventy from 
Boston and Philadelphia. Before the spring of 
1850 vessels to the number of 250 had cleared 
from eastern ports bound for San Francisco. In 
one day forty-five vessels entered the Golden 
Gate. Many of these vessels w^ere notable, 
among them the Edward Everett (f), v^^hich 
sailed from Boston in December, 1848, with 152 
passengers. Others were notable because of 
their smallness (g), scarcely larger than the car- 



(e) This was one of the favorite songs among a 
certain class of pioneers, and one verse read as fol- 
lows: 

"I'll soon be in 'Frisco, 

And then I'll look around. 

And when I see the gold lumps there 

I'll pick 'em off the ground. 

I'll scrape the mountains clean, my boys, 

I'll drain the rivers dry, 

A pocket full of rocks bring home, 

Susannah, don't you cry." 

(f) The ship, which was chartered by 152 well edu- 
cated young men, was named after the famous states- 
man, Edward Everett. At that time he was president 
of Harvard college, and he presented the company 
with 300 volumes of standard authors. The vessel 
left Boston January 10, 1849, and arrived at San Fran- 
cisco July 7th. 

The company brought with it a knock-down steamer 
hull, cabin, boilers and engine. She was put together 
at Benicia and launched August 12th. Five days later, 
August 17th, says William B. I'arwell, the little Pio- 
neer sailed up the Sacramento river, reaching that 
point early in the morning, August 19th. The miners 
cheered the tirst steamer until they were hoarse. The 
day was given up to jollilication and whisky. 

(g) In December, 1849, a party of seven persons 
left Nantucket in a vessel of 44 tons measurement. 
She was called the Mary and Emma and she arrived 
safely at San Francisco after a voyage of 149 days. 
The San I'rancisco Call, June, 1901, says the schooner 
Polly that sailed around Cape Horn in 1849 was only 
61 feet long and 13 feet wide. 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 79 

aval in which Columbus discovered America. 
Some of these ships were chartered by com- 
panies, and they were fitted out with provisions 
sufficient to last two or more years. Others 
were loaded with gold-digging machines, fire 
arms and ammunition (to kill the wild Indians), 
house frames, brick, in fact, hundreds of articles 
the emigrants believed would be necessary in a 
new, uncivilized country. 

On arrival at San Francisco hundreds of pio- 
neers abandoned their vessels and hurried to the 
mines, leaving in charge the captain (h). Oth- 
ers sailed to Sacramento or Stockton, and leav- 
ing their ships there, hurried on, fearing that 
all of the gold would be dug before their arrival. 
Some of these vessels in San Francisco were 
purchased and used as store ships or stores, 
among them the ship Apollo and the famous 
Niantic, over which the Niantic hotel was built. 
At Sacramento a few were used for lighters, and 
one was a prison brig. In Stockton over one 
hundred of these ships were destroyed by fire, 
as they obstructed navigation. 

There was, as I have stated, a positive belief 
that the gold product was limited. This belief 
caused a feverish desire on the part of the im- 
migrants to get to the gold mines in the quick- 
est time possible. Hence many of them on 
reaching Panama left their ships and tried to 
purchase tickets for San Francisco on the north- 
bound steamers. This was almost impossible, 
unless some passenger died on the voyage (i) 
as every steamer from New York to Aspinwall 
was overcrowded. Immigrants were continually 
pouring into Panama from New Orleans, Ja- 
maica and other points, and finding a steamer 
delayed, would charter sailing vessels and start 



(h) One illustration as to results: My father came 
around Cape Horn in 1849 with a company of fifty 
Bostonians. They chartered the bark Lenark for a 
two years' voyage, and placed on board sufiicient sup- 
plies to last them during their short visit to California. 
Leaving the bark at San Francisco in charge of the 
captain, the entire party hurried to the mines. The 
captain immediately after their departure sold the pro- 
visions for a large sum of money and sailed for China. 



80 MEN AND EVENTS 

for San Francisco. Without any knowledge of 
the distance, the adverse winds and tides, or ex- 
perience in saiHng a ship, these crazed voyagers 
sufifered terribly from thirst and hunger, and 
hundreds perished miserably before the ship 
reached San Francisco (j). 

The voyage around Cape Horn was long and 
tedious — seldom less than six months and some- 
times a year. After the first excitement had 
quieted the immigration came by steamer, the 
Panama Steamship Line putting on a line of 
steamers from New York to San Francisco by 
the way of the Isthmus of Panama. Those, how- 
ever, who came by the isthmus found the suf- 
ferings, dangers and hardships as bad or even 
worse than by the Cape Horn route. The steam- 
ers were frequently overcrowded, their accom- 
modations very poor and their connections with 
the Pacific line very uncertain. Panama was a 



(i) On one occasion there were over 3,000 passen- 
gers in the dirty, unhealthy town of Panama, await- 
ing passage to San Francisco. Ofifers were made of 
$600 for a steamer ticket, but the ofifer was not ac- 
cepted. Finally one of the passengers died. A Mr. 
Adams, hearing of the death, immediately sprang from 
his chair, exclaiming: "Had he a through ticket?" 

(j) An eye witness at San Francisco of one of these 
arrivals said: "A sailing vessel reached here yester- 
day from Panama, having on board 130 persons. They 
were 114 days from that port, and 30 persons had 
died of hunger. I saw several of the poor fellows and 
they looked horribly emaciated and famished." 

One party of foolhardy men left Panama in the log 
canoes of the natives. They had no idea of the dis- 
tance to California, and they believed that they could 
reach San Francisco in those frail boats. Nearly all 
of them perished of hunger and exhaustion. 

Another party chartered the small schooner Dol- 
phin and without captain or pilot put out to sea. Be- 
cause of head winds their progress was very slow, and 
at Cape St. Lucas they left the Dolphin, expecting to 
make San Francisco on foot overland. They nearly 
starved to death and after living on cacti, herbs and 
rattlesnakes, naked and nearly famished, the party 
succeeded in reaching San Diego. Some of California's 
best citizens were in that company, among them A. 
W. Schmidt, later one of San Francisco's famous civil 
engineers, and James W. McClatchy, sheriff of Sacra- 
mento countv and founder of the Sacramento Bee. 



ox TO CALIFORNIA 81 

very unhealthy town because of the miasma and 
the raging of the cholera (k). 

Until 1856 the passengers were compelled to 
cross the isthmus riding on a mule and by small 
boats propelled up the Chagres river by natives 
using long poles. In that year the forty-three 
miles of railroad was finished. It is said to have 
cost over $7,000,000. The money was paid out 
principally for labor, as thousands of laborers 
died of diseases contracted while working in ma- 
larial swamps. Today Panama is one of the 
most healthful places, made so by the govern- 
ment under scientific and sanitary enforced laws. 

Although previous to 1869 the majority of 
California's population arrived by water, thou- 
sands braved the dangers of an overland jour- 
ney. They were the pioneers who had settled 
up "the Far West." Ever restless, ever on the 
move, the cry of gold in California reaching their 
ears, they again packed their families and their 
household goods into their wagons and "on to 
California." 

The frontier towns of Independence, St. Jo- 
seph and St. Louis would be their winter camp- 
ing places. In those towns they would pur- 
chase their supplies for their long six months' 
journey. In the early spring they began their 
march, hoping to reach the western valley be- 
fore the winter snows of the Sierras blocked 
their way. 

The emigrants, seldom knowing anything of 
the route, followed the trail by the general di- 
rections given them, trusting to luck and Provi- 
dence until they arrived at Salt Lake. Beyond 
that point those who were wise engaged guides. 
These guides were always necessary, for so 
many were the horses and oxen on the trail, feed 
and water were very scarce. Then there was 



(k) The passengers from the Atlantic side were at 
one time compelled to wait three weeks at Panama 
for the long delayed steamer California. The crew 
had deserted the vessel and gone to the gold mines, 
and it was difficult to get sailors. At this time the 
cholera was raging and from twelve to fifteen deaths 
were daily reported. 



82 MEN AND EVENTS 

great danger from the Indians, for they would 
attack trains, especially small trains, and steal 
the stock and murder the travelers. 

Another source of danger, ever present be- 
yond Fort Laramie, were the hot desert winds. 
They shrunk the wagon wheels until they fre- 
quently fell to pieces. They dried the emi- 
grants' bodies, causing them great sufifering 
from thirst; and so weakened the animals that 
they could travel but slowly. Because of these 
manifold evils, destruction followed in the track 
of every emigrant train. In their weakened con- 
dition they could not stop for rest nor linger to 
even bury the loved ones stricken with disease 
(1). Time to them meant life, and they were 
compelled to hurry on, leaving the dead upon 
the desert to be devoured bv wolves and coyotes. 



(1) This disease was the cholera. It raged fear- 
fully in the border states the first year of the overland 
emigration, 1849, and later in California. As the emi- 
grants entered the wilderness they carried the germs 
of the disease. Persons were suddenly seized with 
the most violent symptoms of the disease. There was 
no possil)le cure, and they were left behind to die. The 
emigrants hastened on to reach, as soon as possible, 
the high altitude beyond Fort Laramie, as the pesti- 
lence disappeared in the high mountain air. From 
cholera alone the first 400 miles west of the frontier 
was marked with dead bodies and newly dug graves. 
Over 4,000 persons of all ages died of disease. 

The disease reached California in the spring of 1850. 
Because of the unhealthy conditions, such as poor 
food, bad water, a lack of comfortable houses, cloth- 
ing, medicines and attendance, the disease raged fear- 
fully. This was particularly true of Sacramento. Al- 
though 90 per cent of her population were young and 
strong men, in November of that year "the deaths 
ranged from thirty to fifty a day for nearly twentj- 
days," said Dr. John Morse. "The daily mortality 
became so great as to keep men constantly carrying 
away the dead." The plague raged to some extent in 
San Jose, about 10 per cent of the population dying. 
Stockton also suffered about 5 per cent. In San Fran- 
cisco 5 per cent of the population were stricken and 
died. John C. Pelton, the first public school teacher, 
said in his report in January, 1851, that one-fifth of 
his pupils, 39, were orphans, "many of them made so 
by the recent ravages of cholera." The mountain 
towns were not affected, as the disease dies out above 
the 1,000 foot level. 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 83 

The entire trail, it has been stated, 2,000 miles, 
was at one time marked with broken wagons, 
dead horses and cattle, household goods and hu- 
man bones. 

Every immigrant rejoiced as he drew near 
to Sutter's fort, for it was "the Mecca" of his 
long weary journey. General Sutter always 
gave the newcomers a hearty welcome (m) and 
if destitute and starving he often provided food 
and clothing free of cost. To none was he a 
greater benefactor than to the Donner party. 
Without his generosity all would have perished. 

In the summer of 1848-49 California saw a 
greater change in its population and trade than 
history has ever before seen in any period. The 
population in 1847, excluding Indians, was 
7,000. The centers of trade were the pueblos of 
Monterey, San Jose and Yerba Buena. San 
Diego, Los Angeles, Sonoma and New Helvetia 
contained a small population. 

Then came the cry of "gold," and in a few 
months the population had increased to nearly 
100,000 persons, people from every land and 
every clime. Over 32,000 sailed through the 
Golden Gate ; 42,000 crossed the Sierras, and 
thousands came by the Santa Fe and other 
trails. 

Day after day steamers and sailing vessels 
landed their passengers at San Francisco and 
they hurried on to the mines, up the San Joa- 
quin river to Stockton, then by stage or on foot 
to the Southern mines, or up the Sacramento 
river to Sacramento, then by stage to the North- 
ern mines. What was the result? Sacramento 
and Stockton, from small, unimportant settle- 
ments, became hives of business and industry. 
Mining camps came to life in a day. Jamestown, 
Sonora, Columbia, Murphy's Camp, Chinese 
Camp, Big Oak Flat, Mariposa, Snellings, Pla- 



(m) General Sutter, one of the most active, enter- 
prising and benevolent of California's early pioneers, 
was born in the grand duchy of Baden, March 1, 1803. 
He was born of religious parents and received a com- 
mon school education only. Engaging in the wine 
business, the wine growers in 1834 sent him to the 



m MEN AND EVENTS 



United States to buy land. He located at St. Charles. 
Missouri, and became an American citizen. 

Then came the reports of the fertile land in the far 
west, and in April, 1834, Sutter with six others joined 
a trapping party bound for the Rocky Mountains. 
From this point horseback they rode to Vancouver, 
reaching that point in December, 1838. Sutter's desti- 
nation was California; the only way of getting there 
was by some trading ship. In the brig Clementine he 
sailed to the Sandwich Islands, then to Monterey, ar- 
riving there in August, 1839. 

Learning that land grants were given free to nat- 
uralized citizens, Sutter became a Mexican subject. 
He then selected and was given a grant of land. 33 
miles square, on the Rio del Sacramento. He called 
it the New Helvetia, after his own native province. 
Why he selected that locality is a problem. It was 
100 miles from San Jose, the nearest settlement, and his 
neighbors were wild Indians and wild animals. 

Sutter reached his grant in a small schooner seven 
days from Yerba Buena. He had a happy faculty in 
making friends with the Indians. He made with them 
a treaty and then emploj^ing them with the assistance 
of a few white men he built Sutter's fort. The walls, 
built of adobe, were two feet thick and fifteen feet 
high. It was mounted with cannon, purchased from 
the Russians. A sentinel constantly stood guard at 
the only gate. Within the fort he built dwellings, 
storehouses, workshops and manufactures. Sutter had 
in his employ about thirty white men, mechanics of 
various kinds, together with several hundred Indians. 
They were engaged in the manufacture of leather 
blankets, soap and various other articles, also in rais- 
ing vegetables, wheat and stock. 

When gold was discovered he had as a part of his 
property 8,000 head of cattle, 2,000 horses and mules, 
nearly 1.000 sheep and 1.000 hogs. Then came the 
gold rush, and Sutter lost everything. The lawless 
class stole his stock, cut down his timber, trampled 
over his wheat fields and "squatted" upon his land. 
The man who had assisted hundreds of suffering im- 
migrants was to die a pauper. Finally losing all of his 
property through bad debts and swindlers, he applied 
to the state legislature for a montlily pension. The 
legislature voted him a i)ension for several years, and 
then subsequent legislatures refused further assist- 
ance. The grafters were then taking everything in 
sight. The old man then returned to Pennsylvania 
and petitioned Congress for assistance. While they 
were debating the momentous question of granting the 
old pioneer $100 a month, June 17, 1880, he passed 
away. Not even a decent monument today heads his 
grave. 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 85 

cerville, Marysville and a hundred other camps 
became busy marts of life and trade. 

Stockton was founded in 1849 by Captain 
Charles M. Weber. When first he saw the land 
he believed in some future time it would become 
a city of great commercial importance because 
of its deep water outlet to the sea. Weber as 
early as 1844 obtained this land, some 10,489 
acres, from his San Jose partner, Wm. Gulnack. 
The land was designated by the Mexicans as 
Campo de los Franceses, the camp of the 
Frenchmen. Gulnack, being a naturalized Mex- 
ican citizen, obtained the grant free of cost. 
XA'eber obtained it for a mere song. 

In trying to populate the grant in 1847, Cap- 
tain Weber olTered any settlers a lot in the town 
and 160 acres of land. They laughed at the 
offer, and one immigrant, Thomas Doak, de- 
clared he would not give 10 cents an acre for all 
the land between Weberville and Sutter's fort. 

In 1847 the owner succeeded in getting some 
twenty settlers, trappers and sailors, to settle 
upon the grant. Then came the discovery of 
gold, January, 1848. In the fall of that year he 
built the first house in the San Joaquin valley. 
In the spring of 1849 he saw the realization of 
his dream and resurveyed the town. In this re- 
survey he laid off a city one mile square, divided 
into blocks 300 feet square. Each street was 
open to the channel, and streets ran along the 
water front. Two years later speculators offered 
him thousands of dollars a front foot for lots on 
the water front. He refused all oft'ers, saying 
the water front must be kept open for the use 
of the general public. Today the citizens appre- 
ciate the wisdom of the founder. 

In the spring of 1849 the incoming immigrants 
began arriving, and as James H. Carson declared, 
"a rush and whirl of human beings was con- 
stantly before the eye and a city had arisen at 
the bidding of the full-fledged Minerva." A tent 
city of 1,000 people had arisen as if by magic. 
Christmas morn, 1849. the city was in ashes, 
swept by a half-million dollar fire. Again was 
the town rebuilt. Ship after ship entered the 
harbor. The navigfation of the channel was ob- 



86 MEN AND EVENTS 

structed b}- the incoming vessels, and in Feb- 
ruary, 1850, merchants, 107 in number, peti- 
tioned Captain Weber to remove the obstruc- 
tions. 

In the spring of that year there were over 
2,000 people living in Stockton, more than suffi- 
cient to incorporate a city. The citizens began 
discussing city incorporation, and in less than 
two months, August, 1850, the city was incorpo- 
rated and city officers elected. Captain Weber 
then deeded all of the streets, alleys and public 
squares to the new city of Stockton. Six months 
later Stockton had her local government and laws 
and ordinances governing commerce and society, 
a well equipped fire department, private schools, 
religious and secret societies and two daily news- 
papers. Steamers ran daily to San Francisco 
and stages to the mines. She had her banking 
and express offices, post office, hotels, stores and 
shops, commission houses and traders, all doing 
a thriving business with the merchants of the 
Southern mines. 

Stockton and Sacramento are the only two 
cities in California founded by individuals. The 
former, as we have seen, was founded by Captain 
Weber, and the latter by Captain John M. Sut- 
ter. The enterprising Swiss on his arrival in the 
territory became a naturalized Mexican citizen. 
He then obtained a grant of land on the Rio del 
Sacramento, which he called New Helvetia. 
Building his fort some three miles from the west 
river bank, it was previous to 1844 the only trad- 
ing post in northern California. Sutter then es- 
tablished a ferry across the Sacramento river. 
It was much traveled, as the distance to Yerba 
Buena by the way of Semple's ferry, Benicia. 
was much shorter than by the way of Tuleburg. 
Sutter also became a town builder. He founded 
a town on the river bank, three miles below 
Sacramento. He named it Sutterville. The little 
burg flourished until the gold discovery, then 
faded away. In the spring of 1848 Sacramento 
consisted of two houses, a whisky shop and a 
small cabin, both upon the river bank. In 
the latter part of the year it contained sixty 
houses and a population of three hundred 



88 AIEN AND EVENTS 

persons. Lieutenant Warner, an army engineer, 
obtained a leave of absence from Governor Ma- 
son and, employed by Sutter, he laid off Sacra- 
mento. Most of the surveying was done near 
the fort, Sutter contending that no permanent 
tt)wn could be founded u])on the river banks be- 
cause of the high waters. WHien the sale of lots 
took place in the spring of 1849 the greatest de- 
mand was for land along the river front. These 
were sold and a transfer of business then took 
place from the fort to First. Second, Third and 
K streets. 

The citizens elected their first alcalde in the 
fall of 1848. In January. 1849. they held their 
first regular election, choosing men to fill the 
offices of magistrate, recorder, alcalde and sheriff. 
They also appointed a board of commissioners to 
frame a code of laws for the government of the 
district. They met the citizens assembled under 
an oak tree, then at the foot of J street, and made 
their report. Their code was accepted and by 
these laws Sacramento was governed until after 
California's admission as a state. 

During the floods of 1849 and 18.=i2 they 
learned to their sorrow that Sutter was right. 
Then began the expenditure of millions of dol- 
lars in filling up the land. ■ They spent on J street 
alone, one year. 1855, over a half million. 

The population of Sacramento in July. 1849, 
numbered some 1,500. whicii had increased in 
he summer of 1850 to 10,000. 

The main streets were constantly crowded and 
immigrants by the hundreds were in camp upon 
the outside of the town. In September nine lines 
of steamers ran up the Sacramento river ; stages 
left the town every morning for the mines, and 
the banking and express offices together with the 
merchants were carrying on an immense busi- 
ness. Before this time they had adopted a city 
charter, elected a town council and were holding 
])olitical meetings. The Placer Times claimed a 
circulation of 500 at $12 a year subscription rates, 
and their job and advertising work was over 
$2,000 a week. Real estate had advanced in 
price far beyond its real worth, and choice lots 
sold at $3,000 each. Rents were very high and 



ox TO CALIFORXIA 89 

Sutlers' sawmill at Coloma was removed in sec- 
tions to Sacramento and finished as the City 
Hotel, rented for $30,000 a year. The proprietor 
charged $5 a day or $20 a week for the plainest 
meals. The completion of the hotel was marked 
by a ball July 4, 1849. The tickets were $35. 
All of the women of the town were present, 
eighteen in number. Each lady had ten dancing 
partners and a few more. 

Business was very brisk. Merchants were 
taking in over $3,000 a day across their pine 
board counters ; clerks were receiving from $300 
to $500 a month, and gambling and whisky sa- 
loons were doing such a profitable business that 
they were paying $1,000 a month rent. 

San Francisco until 1847 was known as Yerba 
Buena (good herb). That year, however, the al- 
calde, Washington A. Bartlett, by official procla- 
mation changed the name to San Francisco. At 
this time the population was about 900. Four 
years later the census marshal reported a popu- 
lation of 56,871. 

When the first survey was made, in 1835, a 
Mexican surveyor believed one street sufficient 
for all purposes. He laid off a single street, call- 
ing it "La Callade la Fundacion." In 1839 a 
new survey was made by the Frenchman, Jean 
Vioget. He gave the town a frontage upon 
Yerba Buena cove. He laid ofif as the boundary 
of the new town what is now Post, Leaven- 
worth and Francisco street. He included the 
water lots then just east of Montgomery street, 
between the two land marks, Rincon point on 
the south and Black point on the north. The 
land at the time was one or two feet under the 
water; nevertheless it was divided into 16'/ by 
50 vara lots. A vara is 33 1-3 inches. 

W^hen General Kearny arrived in San Fran- 
cisco the speculators, looking to the future, re- 
quested him to place on sale these water lots. He 
had them put up on sale. Li three days over 
200 lots were bought up, ranging in price from 
$50 to $600 each. In August a second sale of 
lots was made. These were sandhill lots, and 
they sold from $12 to $25 a lot. The gold dis- 
covery sent those dry lots a-booming. Before 



90 MEN AND EVENTS 

the close of 1849 they arose in value and $10,000 
was paid for corner single lots. Then the wise 
ones made their fortunes by the same methods 
in which, in later years, speculators grabbed all 
of the best California lands. One of these spec- 
ulators was Captain Joseph Folsom, at that time 
quartermaster of the custom house. The limit 
of purchase was three lots. Folsom bought the 
limit. Then he bribed his clerks to buy more 
lots for him. In this way he obtained many lots 
and cleared, by selling lots, a million dollars. 

Folsom advised Lieutenant Wm. T. Sherman 
to buy lots. He thought it a waste of good 
money. Some years later Sherman in relating 
the incident said : "I felt insulted that he should 
think me such a fool. They were not worth $16 
before the gold discovery, and are higher now 
than they ever will be in the future. The mines 
will be exhausted and the country will become 
a desert again.' 

The rapid growth of San Francisco was as- 
tonishing not only in its sudden increase in pop- 
ulation but in its increase in improvements and 
in wealth. Within the four years the streets im- 
passable in winter because of mud were planked 
and nearly two miles of wharves built. They 
had already begun to cut away the hills and 
business had extended into Happy valley, now a 
part of Market street. Upon every side the 
sound of machinery was heard and steam en- 
gines were busy. The streets at night were 
lighted with whale oil until 1854; then gas was 
the lighting material until electricity took its 
place. Omnibuses began running to North 
beach in 1854 and they were the public convey- 
ance throughout the city until 1860; then the 
first horse car line ran up Market street to the 
"Willows." The cable cars were first started 
on Clay street. 

( )aklan(l. — All oi the country around al)out 
Oakland was owned by the Spaniard, Don Luis 
Peralta. Governor Sola gave him the grant in 
1820. Peralta lived in the foothills with his fam- 
ily and raised horses and cattle. When the state 
was organized in 1850 he divided his land among 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 91 

his four sons. Vinceiite Feralta obtained that 
part where now lies Oakland. 

The first settlement was by the Patton broth- 
ers, in 1850. They located at what was then 
known as Brooklyn, now a part of Oakland, and 
began raising wheat. They had good water 
communication with Yerba Buena by the way of 
San Antonio creek, and they built an embarca- 
dero at that point. Since 1847 the mission fath- 
ers had been using that creek, and in small boats 
they had been shipping hides, tallow and a few 
vegetables from San Jose mission to the deep 
water vessels anchored in the bay. A trading 
store was opened near the mission after the gold 
discovery, and at once a line of travel was estab- 
lished to Yerba Buena over the Brooklyn line. 

The point at this time was known as the Con- 
tra Costa landing. Edison Adams, A. J. Moon 
and H. J. Carpentier, observing that the embarca- 
dero was a good shipping point, in 1850 squatted 
upon the land. That is, they took possession, 
claiming that Peralta had no right to his father's 
estate. Upon the spot now known as Broadway 
they located 160 acres and, erecting a small 
dwelling, they named the future town Oak-land. 
The ground was thick with live oak and syca- 
more trees. The town prospered and in 1852 
Carpentier succeeded in inducing the legislature 
to pass a law incorporating a city. The three 
men then became the town trustees. These hon- 
est fellows then deeded to Carpentier the whole 
of the Oakland water front. In consideration of 
this gift, Carpentier built a wharf for public use, 
and a public school. Amusing as this transac- 
tion appears, it has cost Oakland millions of 
dollars, and was finally settled less than four 
years ago, after ten years of litigation. 

The city was laid off in blocks 200x300 feet 
with streets 80 feet wide. Broadway, however, 
is 110 feet wide. The bounds of the town were 
Fourteenth street on the north. West street on 
the west, including 300 feet into the bay; Oak- 
land creek on the south, and Lake Merritt on 
the east. 

Communication was made between Oakland 
and San Francisco in early days by a small 



92 MEN AND EVENTS 

steamer which made two-hour trips. Opposition 
in 1857 reduced the fare and increased the num- 
ber of trips. The San Antonio creek route was 
abandoned in 1863 and a long wharf was built 
over the mud flats to deep water. Then two 
large steamers, the Contra Costa and Oakland, 
began making two-hour trips. The fare was 50 
cents each way. In 1869 the Central Pacific rail- 
road obtained control of the ferry, and running 
their trains through Seventh street, made the 
steamer ferry trips conform to the running time of 
their trains. The Oakland climate, less foggy and 
chilly than that of the peninsula, appealed to the 
wealthier class of people, and building houses in 
Oakland, they began making it their home. Thus 
Oakland grew until it became known as the 
sleeping room of San Francisco. The destruc- 
tion of that city by lire in April. 1906, w^as Oak- 
land's opportunity. Its population, now over 
300,000, nearly equals that of the bay city. 

New York of the Pacific. — It was the height 
of the ambition of many pioneers to found a 
town, and among them was Colonel J. D. Ste- 
venson. He founded New York of the Pacific 
on San Pablo bay, south side. Stevenson had 
an idea that his town would become a miniature 
New York, his native state. As ocean ships 
could sail to that point, he believed Tuleburg 
(Stockton) and Sacramento would become de- 
serted villages. Stevenson engaged William T. 
Sherman and Richard P. Hammond to lay off the 
town. He promised them for their work $500 
cash and ten town lots. They surveyed and 
sounded San Pablo bay and found a depth of 
thirty feet of water. Quite a number of lots 
were sold. When it was learned, however, that 
400-ton steamers could easily ascend the rivers 
to Stockton and Sacramento throughout the 
year, New York of the Pacific and Benicia found 
their Waterloo. 

Vallejo and Mare Island. — The island was so 
named because the early settlers there found a 
number of wild mares. In 1849 six government 
officers from the army and navy selected Mare 
island as the site for the establishment of gov- 
ernment works. The state legislature in 1854 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 93 

deeded the island to the government. Then com- 
menced the construction of the works. 

No government employes were permitted to 
reside on the island. The enforcement of this 
rule gave birth to Vallejo, on the opposite side of 
the strait. The land belonged to John Frisbie. 
Laying off a town, he named it Vallejo, his 
wife's maiden name. The town is principally 
populated with government employes, their 
wives and children. 

Jamestown. — Jamestown was named after the 
first discoverer of gold in that vicinity, William 
James. Its growth was rapid. Carson, visiting 
the spot in May, 1849, after a year's absence, 
said : " * * * ()n the large flat we found a 
canvas city under the name of Jamestown, which, 
similar to a crop of mushrooms, had sprung up 
in a night. A hundred flags were flying from 
restaurants, taverns, rum mills and gambling 
houses." 

Cornelius Sullivan and his companions at this 
time were on their way from Monterey to Col- 
oma. In camp one night a Spaniard came along 
and said: "Oh, my friends, there is lots of gold, 
chunks as big as my fist, on the Stanislaus." The 
party then turned from Coloma to Jamestown. 
"Never will I forget the impressions of the scene 
before us," said Sullivan to the writer. "Under 
a brushwood tent supported by upright poles 
sat James D. Savage, measuring and pouring 
gold dust into the candle boxes by his side. Five 
hundred or more naked Indians with belts of 
cloth bound around their waists or suspended 
from their heads brought the dust to Savage, and 
in return for it received a bright piece of cloth 
or some beads." 

Sonora. — Sonora was located in 1848 by the 
Woods party. It took its name, however, from a 
number of expert miners, natives of Sonora, 
Mexico, who, finding gold, located there in large 
numbers. They were quickly driven away by 
the Americans. The place grew rapidly. In No- 
vember, 1848, they elected a town council. In 
the following year, 1852, Sonora had 100 business 
houses. They carried a stock of a half million 
dollars. In 1856 with its population of 5,000 it 



94 MEN AND EVENTS 

had its secret organizations of Masons, Odd Fel- 
lows and temperance societies, public and pri- 
vate schools and four religious denominations 
of Catholic, Presbyterian, Episcopal and South 
Methodist, each holding weekly Sunday serv- 
ices. Upon a Saturday night the street was 
crowded with miners from the hills and gulches, 
seeking their mail, the news and their weekly 
supply of provisions ; and music, heard from all 
sides, attracted the curious to the gambling ta- 
bles, where was seen the miner with his hard- 
earned gold "bucking the tiger." 

Columbia, three miles from Sonora, was cre- 
ated through the accidental discovery of gold. A 
party of prospectors bound for other diggings 
in March, 1850, camped there for the night. 
While drying their blankets the next morning 
after a heavy rain they began prospecting and 
found gold. The news flew upon the wings of 
lightning. In four days there were forty tents 
upon the ground. Eight months later 8,000 min- 
ers were at work. Prostitution and gambling 
ruled the camp. One hundred and forty monte 
banks, with capital of $500,000, carried on their 
favorite game. 

Late in the spring of 1851 water for mining 
was very scarce. The entire population save ten 
left the camp. That winter they returned. In 
1852 Colunil)ia had 152 j^laces of business, this 
including 30 gambling saloons, 40 grocery and 
dry goods stores, 4 banks and 3 express com- 
panies and a brewery. That year the Tuolumne 
Water Company brought a stream of water three 
feet wide and two feet deep into the town. This 
gave assurance of prosperity. In 1854 the town 
was incorporated and George Sullivan elected 
mayor. The town cast 9,858 votes. In July, 
1854, the place was destroyed by fire, loss $600,- 
000. The gold output l)egan to decrease, and 
in 1858 the inhabitants began leaving "the gem 
of the mountains." Real estate fell in value rap- 
idly. Ten years later the camp was almost de- 
serted. 

Murphy's Camp, on the road to the famous 
Calaveras big trees, was founded in 1849 by a 
prospecting party. At one period over 3,000 



ON TO CALIFORNIA 95 

miners lived in that locality. It was a remark- 
ably rich spot. Ground sixty feet square yielded 
over a half million in two years, and from that 
vicinity over $2,000,000 was taken. The place 
was named after Murphy, one of the prospectors. 
He later opened a hotel. In 1858 James Sperry 
erected a stone building and opened a hotel for 
tourists. In the destructive fire of 1860 it was 
burned out, but was again refurnished. 

Placerville. — The place was first known as 
Kelsey's Diggins. A party of friendly Indians 
guided Kelsey to the place. About Christmas, 
1848, the miners hung Irish Dick and two other 
murderers from an oak tree. The place was 
tiien known as Hangtown. Later it was incor- 
porated under its present name, Placerville. 

In 1852 the wealth, population and the polit- 
ical power of the state centered in the gold 
mines. The census marshal that year reported a 
population of 224,435, and of this number the 
seven counties of Calaveras, El Dorado, Nevada, 
Tuolumne, Placer, Sierra and Yuba contained 
126,853 inhabitants. 

Early in the '60s because of the gradual de- 
crease of the gold output the gold diggers be- 
lieved "the mines were played out," and they 
began leaving by the hundreds and locating in 
the valleys and coast towns. Soon the small 
camps and then the largest diggins were desert- 
ed. Stores were closed, families left their pretty 
little cottages and gardens and thousands of dol- 
lars' worth of property was left to ruin and de- 
cay. In one camp a brick building erected at a 
cost of $4,000 rented for $100 a month. Later 
it found no tenant at $5.00 a month. In one town 
in 1853, 5,000 miners crowded its streets every 
Saturday night. Ten years later not 500 people 
could be found there. Now the camps that con- 
tained the population, highest intellects and 
wealth of the state are but the skeletons of their 
early life. They await the prosperity that will 
again come, through the electric railroad and 
horticulture. For fruit raising no soil in the 
state equals that of the mountain lands. 




Colton Hall. 
Old Spanish Custom House. 



CHAPTER VII. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE. 

Government in some form is indispensable in 
every community. Therefore, soon after the 
war the citizens of San Jose, San Francisco, 
Stockton and Sacramento assembled in mass 
meeting and adopted the Mexican system of gov- 
ernment. They were familiar with this form of 
government and it served their purpose, as the 
population was limited and the citizens peace- 
ful and honest. The rush of immigration, how- 
ever, caused a complete change, not only in the 
morals of the people, but in the commerce and 
trade of the territory. Life and property became 
unsafe because of the criminal element. Busi- 
ness was in an unsettled condition, and, to make 
matters worse, the government demanded gold 
or silver coin for all custom house duties. As 
there was but little coin in the territory, gold 
dust depreciated over 50 per cent. Hence it was 
necessary to organize not alone local, but a ter- 
ritorial or state government. 

A clash took place at this time between the 
military governor and the town council of San 
Francisco, this fight showing another reason 
why a government should be organized. Gen- 
eral Bennett Riley, "Hero of Contreras," as he 
was called, arrived at San Francisco April 12, 
1849. He came in command of 650 soldiers. 
Nearly all of them deserted and hastened to the 
mines. Riley came as California's Civil Gov- 
ernor, but soon after arrival he dissolved the 
town council of San Francisco. He gave as his 
reasons that they had no right to elect any offi- 
cers without the consent of Congress. Commo- 
dore Sloat took the opposite view. He advised 
them to "elect their own magistrates and other 

97 



98 MEN AND EVENTS 

officers for the administration of justice." Peter 
H. Burnett, then a well known lawyer, assailed 
Riley's position and maintained that as Con- 
gress had failed to give California a form of 
government, the people themselves had a con- 
stitutional right to organize a government for 
the "protection of life and the pursuit of happi- 
ness." It was a question of people's rights, and 
Burnett was ably seconded by Senator Wm. M. 
Gwin (a), who arrived in California June 4, 
1849, for the express purpose of assisting the 



(a) The name of Wm. M. Gwin was well known in 
politics long before he saw the state that elected him 
its first United States Senator. Born in Tennessee, 
October 9, 1803, he received his education in the Lex- 
ington, Kentucky, University. He then began the 
study of medicine. His father being an intimate friend 
of President Jackson, the latter appointed young Gwin 
his private secretary. In his new position he learned 
the tricks and schemes of politics. A "natural born" 
politician, from that time on he gave his entire atten- 
tion to the lust for power. 

After the retirement of President Jackson, Gwin in 
1833 located in Mississippi and was appointed United 
States Marshal. Seven years later he was elected 
United States Senator from that state. 

While engaged as superintendent of the New Orleans 
custom house there came to him the breezing report 
of gold in California. With far-sighted judgment he 
saw a new state looming up in the Far West, and in 
Willard's hotel, Washington, he said to Stephen A. 
Douglass: "On the morrow I shall be en route to 
California to urge that policy (the organization of a 
state), and to become a candidate for United States 
Senator, and within a year I will present my creden- 
tials." 

He arrived in San Francisco June 4, 1849. He sat 
upon his trunk on the hillside as the flames swept over 
the town, San Francisco's third great fire. He was 
elected as one of San Francisco's five delegates to the 
convention, and at once became its leader. From then 
forward until 1862 Gwin was the leader of the South- 
ern California wing of the Democratic party. In that 
year he was arrested by the United States authorities 
and imprisoned at New York. When released he 
w^ent to Mexico as an ally of Maximilian. From that 
time on he was known as Duke de Gwin. 

Gwin was a man of impressive personality, tall, well 
formed, polished in manner and in speech, positive 
in his opinion and a fine orator. He made many 
friends and held them with bands of steel. He died 
in New York, September 3, 1885. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 99 

people in forming a state government, and re- 
turning to Washington a United States Senator. 

Although Riley opposed the people taking any 
action without the approval of Congress, he 
finally gave way to public opinion and called a 
convention to assemble September 3, 1849, at 
Monterey; the delegates to said convention to 
be elected June 3 by the people of the several 
districts. The territory w^as divided into ten 
districts, the number of delegates in each district 
being governed by the district population. San 
Joaquin was the largest district, "all of the terri- 
tory south of the Consumne lying between the 
Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range" (b). 

This convention, which assembled at Monterey 
at the time appointed, was in some respects the 
most remarkable body ever in session. The dele- 
gates came from every state in the Union, and five 
from foreign parts. The seven native Califor- 
nians could not speak a word of English. For 
their benefit an interpreter, W. E. P. Hartwell, 
was appointed. He received $23.00 a day for his 
work. None of the delegates had a two years' 
residence, and four had resided in the territory 
less than five months. Forty-four of the forty- 
eight delegates w-ere under 50 years of age, and 
9 were under 30. Politically, by states, 17 fa- 
vored slavery, 20 opposed slavery and 11 were 
neutral — being either foreigners or native born. 
According to occupation or profession there were 
14 lawyers, 11 farmers, 8 merchants, 2 printers. 
3 soldiers and 10 of other occupations. 

Assembling on the appointed day, Monday, 
September 3d, in Colton hall (c), then the only 



(b) San Joaquin was a good sized election pre- 
cinct, 40 by 100 miles. The district was allotted five 
delegates. So rapidly did the population increase in 
number, they elected fifteen delegates. Through the 
efforts of Gwin they were all seated. 

(c) Colton hall, now kept in repair by the state, 
was built by Walter Colton by prison labor. Colton 
was the chaplain of the man-of-war Congress. _ Com- 
modore Stockton appointed him as alcalde of Mon- 
terey. While thus acting he would make the prisoners 
work out their punishment. The building is con- 
structed of the same material as Carmelo mission, and 
the masonry was done by men of Stevenson's regiment. 



100 MEX AND EVENTS 

building in the territory large enough for such 
a body, they organized by electing as president 
Robert Semple, an anti-slavery delegate ; Will- 
iam A. Marcy, a son of the Secretary of State 
under President Polk, was elected as secretary 
and J. Ross Browne was made reporter. Browne 
was later Minister to China and one of Oakland's 
wealthiest citizens. 

One of the first questions before the conven- 
tion was. "\\'hat kind of a government shall we 
create?" Burnett, who assisted in the formation 
of the ()reg( n government, wanted a civil provi- 
sional government. Three districts favored that 
form. A few delegates wanted a monarchial 
government, and many an independent govern- 
ment. General Riley asserted that Congress 
would not sanction the form of government last 
named. Some wanted a territorial government. 
This was quickly \-oted down, however, and 
finally they decided upon a state form of gov- 
ernment. 

The boundary of the state caused a long and 
heated discussion. The friends of the South, 
defeated in their effort to make California a 
slave state, now endeavored to make a state so 
large that later it could be divided into six 
states. Each state was to border upon the Pacific 
ocean, and it was proposed to have two of the 
states "south of Mason and Dixon's line. After 
manv days of wrangling, Robert Semple ex- 
claimed: "Take the Sierras as our natural 
boundary!" Major llill (lehnitely outlined Sem- 
])le's idea, and tiie summit of the Sierras was 
adopted as the state's eastern boundary line. 

Before the convention had been many days in 
session Wm. Shannon of New Y(,)rk introduced 
as one of the sections of the declaration of rights. 
"Neither slavery or involuntary servitude unless 
for the punishment of crime, shall ever be tol- 
erated in this state." Many believed that this 
section would cause a hot fight. The Congres- 
sional House had turned down Stephen A. Doug- 
las' California bill because of this pro\ision. The 
delegates knew that a \\ big Congress woidd not 
admit a slave state. Therefore, two of the dis- 
tricts, San Francisco and Sacranient' '. had 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 101 

pledged their delegates to oppose slavery ; in 
fact, the district first named passed a resolution 
instructing their delegates "to oppose any incipi- 
ent act that might tend to its (slavery's) intro- 
duction." The Shannon section was passed 
unanimously. 

Many of the delegates had no love for the Ne- 
gro. While the slavery question was being dis- 
cussed McCarver of Missouri offered an amend- 
ment prohibiting the immigration of Negroes, 
free or slave. At once party lines were drawn. 
The anti-slavery men contended that the Negro 
would compete with white labor, and that slave 
owners would bring their slaves to California 
by the thousand, work them in the mines and 
get all of the gold. The pro-slavery men 
laughed at this absurdity. They declared that 
the Negro would be a benefit. Slave owners 
would not dare to bring them to a free state, as 
then they would be free. The amendment was 
defeated by a strict party vote. The pro-slavery 
men, fifteen in all, voted aye ; the twenty-two 
anti-slavery men voted nay. 

The color line in another form created quite a 
l)reeze when the committee reported that all 
Negroes, Indians and their descendants be de- 
prived of their right of suffrage. They quickly 
found that they would have to amend the re- 
port. Several of the Mexican delegates were of 
Indian blood and Mani Dominguez, a delegate 
from Los Angeles, was a pure-blooded Indian. 

The con\ention provided for the organization 
of public schools and made a provision for laws 
against dueling and gambling. Before adjourn- 
ment sine die, they declared December 15, 1849, 
as the time of meeting of the first legislature at 
San Jose. They also selected November l.^th 
as the time of election for state officers, the 
people to elect for a term of two years a Gov- 
ernor, Lieutenant Governor and a legislature. 
They were to declare their choice for two con- 
gressmen and vote for or against the constitu- 
tion. 

The convention finished its work October 
13th and each delegate signed his name to the 
constitution. As they began signing about one 



102 MEN AND EVENTS 

o'clock in the afternoon, the United States flag 
was broken to the wind and the cannon upon 
the hill began its welcome salute. 

The delegates were all very tired and sleepy 
for the previous evening they had been dancing 
in the first state ball. The convention that day 
had adjourned long before noon. The room was 
cleared of benches and tables and the walls deco- 
rated with pine limbs, Monterey cypress and 
flags. To give light to the gay and festive 
scene a wooden chandelier in the form of a cross 
was made and suspended from the center ceiling 
by a rope. The lights were candles, home-made. 
About 200 persons were present, this including 
twenty American women and some sixty Span- 
ish and Mexican senoritas (d). At midnight 
supper was announced and the dancers marched 
to the banquet hall in the first story. The tables 
were loaded with meats, fish, bread, cake, wines 
and liquors and cigarettes. After supper they 
danced until daylight. 

The first political campaign was in some re- 
spects similar to the present campaign of 1914. 
There were no political parties, and each ofiice- 
seeker was obliged to "paddle his own canoe" — 
the words of a song of that day. There were 
two candidates for Lieutenant Governor and five 
candidates for Governor: Peter H. Burnett (a 
well known lawyer), John Sutter (the founder 
of Sacramento), Wm. Sherwood (an Irish legis- 
lator from New York), John Geary (postmaster 
of San Francisco, who was sent out from Wash- 
ington) and Wm. Steuart. 

At tliis time there were but three newspapers 



(d) The women at tliis 1>all were dressed in hand- 
some silk goods. Tlie men, many of whom had gone 
to the convention dressed in their hickory shirts and 
flop hats, were at their wits' end for a suitable dress. 
They borrowed from one person a white shirt, from 
a second a pair of pants, from a third a vest. Not a 
pair of kid gloves could be found, and $50 was offered 
for a pair of patent leather i)oots. The orchestra 
comprised two violins and two guitars. They had but 
three pieces of music. Before dawn the dancers were 
humming the tunes. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 103 



and job offices in the territory, the Placer Times 
at Sacramento and the Pacific News and Alta (e) 
at San Francisco. These offices were kept busy- 
day and night printing ballots and the consti- 
tution. The candidates, taking copies, visited 
every county in the state and so far as possible 
distributed the ballots and constitution. It was 
an unusually wet winter and the mud in both 
mountain and valley made traveling almost im- 
possible. For this reason many voters had no 
knowledge of any election, while others received 
no ballots. On election day it rained heavily in 
the Sierras and three-fourths of the American 
miners did not leave their tents to go to the 
polls. Thousands of the voters had never seen 
nor heard of the candidates, and as one miner 
remarked, "I went it blind when I came to Cali- 
fornia, and I guess Fll go it blind now." Peter 
H. Burnett was elected Governor (f). The vote 
was: Peter H. Burnett 6,716, Wm. Sherwood 



(e) The Alta was the child of the Californian and 
the California Star. The Californian, the first paper 
ever published in the territory, was first issued August 
15, 1846, as a four-page weekly. The paper was pub- 
lished by Walter Colton, who had had some experi- 
ence as an editor, and by Robert Seniple, a printer. 

In 1847 Colton sold his interest to Seniple, and in 
May Semple removed to Yerba Buena, believing that 
was the coming town. Semple in removing to the har- 
bor came in competition with the Star, Samuel Bran- 
nan's paper, first published January 17, 1847. E. C. 
Kemble was the editor of\the Star and he and Edward 
C. Gilbert, purchasing both papers, then brought out 
the Alta. 

(f) Peter H. Burnett was born in Tennessee, No- 
vember 15, 1807. Burnett with his wife and six chil- 
dren removed to Oregon in 1843. He there assisted 
in organizing that territory into a state, and acted as 
a legislator. In 1848 he removed to this territory and 
became Sutter's agent, taking charge of his lawsuits, 
collecting rents and selling townlots. /Two^ of his 
children were young ladies when he arrived in Cali- 
fornia, and this fact increased his popularity among 
the young voters. Retiring from office, he later be- 
came a banker and organized the Pacific bank. In 
middle life he became a Catholic and wrote a second 
book, "Why Am I a Catholic?" He lived a quiet, 
temperate life, and died in San Francisco, May 17, 
1895. 



104 MEN AND EVENTS 

3,188, John M. Sutter 2,201, John W. Geary 
1,475, Wm. Steuart 619; John McDougal was 
elected Lieutenant Governor, 7.324, and Edward 
Gilbert and George W. Wright members of 
Congress. The total vote was 14,229. Twelve 
hundred voted for the constitution and 811 
against it. 

The legislature assembled at San Jose Decem- 
ber 15, 1849. Five days later they met in joint 
session to vote for United States Senators. It 
was one of the most important of joint sessions, 
for upon their choice depended perhaps the 
state's admission into the Union. The legisla- 
ture was non-partisan. Its first choice for Sen- 
ator, however, was the Whig, John C. Fremont,' 
as it was presumed he bemg the son-in-law of 
Thomas H. Benton, that famous leader would 
work hard for California's admission. Their 
second choice was Wm. M. Gwin ; he would have 
great influence with the Southern members. The 
candidates, seven in number, were John C. Fre- 
mont. Wm. M. Gwin, Henry W. Halleck, John 
W. Geary and Butler King. The latter had 
come to California in the interests of President 
Taylor and Thomas J. Henley. Each candidate 
worked for the honor. Money was freely ex- 
pended and high-priced wines, liquors and ci- 
gars were free to legislators and friends. For 
a two-year term Fremont was elected upon the 
first ballot. Gwin was elected upon the second 
ballot, his term four years. 

Before the final vote for Congressmen several 
legislators resigned from office, for, as we say, 
"there was nothing in it." The first to retire 
was Senator Nathaniel Bennett from the San 
Francisco district. He resigned to become Asso- 
ciate Chief Justice. The vacancy was filled by 
David S. Broderick (g), who had had considera- 
ble political experience in the Tammany Club, 
New York. Soon after taking his seat January 8, 
1850, Governor Burnett resigned to go into busi- 
ness. He was the only governor to resign ex- 
cept to fill a higher place, as did Milton S. La- 
tham and Newton Booth. The succession of 
John McDougal as Governor caused a vacancy 
in the chair of the Senate. David S. Broderick 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 105 

was elected. As president of the Senate Brod- 
erick had a strong pull and he now began that 
political warfare which ended in his tragic death. 
The first legislators were fond of perpetrating 
jokes, and one member introduced a bill, which 
went through the usual course, levying a tax 
of twenty-five cents per month on all bachelors 



(g) David Colbert Broderick, the man who by his 
indoinitable will and forceful tactics compelled the 
Democratic party to acknowledge his power, was born 
of obscure parents, February 14, 1820, in the city of 
New York. The father, a stone cutter, died when the 
boy was but fourteen years of age, and young David 
then learned the same trade, that he might the better 
assist his mother and younger brother. In 1844 Brod- 
erick was alone, his mother and brother both dead. 

Long before this time he had become an active 
Bowery leader and foreman of Engine Company No. 
34. He ,was a great favorite, for none could cope 
with him in wrestling, and he was also an excellent 
boxer. At that time in the Eastern cities, later in 
California, the fire department were active workers in 
politics and backed their candidate to a man. 

Broderick even at that early day was ambitious to 
become a United States Senator, for as he later said 
in California, "My goal is the United States Senate and 
I will arrive if living. Why, to sit in the Senate of 
the United States as a Senator for one day, I would 
consent to be roasted on a slow fire on the plaza." 

Broderick, although but one year over the consti- 
tutional limit, received the nomination from his dis- 
trict for United States Senator, but was defeated by 
the "plughat uglies." as the aristocratic friends of 
President Polk were called. Broderick's anger was 
intense and, says James O'Meara in his book, "Brod- 
erick and Gwin," in June, 1849, he left New York for 
California and swore that he never would return to it 
until he should go as a Senator of the United States. 
Eight years later he made good his word. 

Broderick on arrival in San Francisco immediately 
found two old friends, Jonathan D. Stephenson and 
Charles D. Kohler. The last named was engaged in 
coining money, and Broderick became his partner. 
He also took an active part in the organization of 
the fire department and was elected foreman of Em- 
pire No. 1. After the fatal duel it was renamed Brod- 
erick and so remained until the dissolution of the 
department in 1869. 

A few months after Broderick's arrival he was elect- 
ed to the Senate, and from that time on until his 
death his life forms a part of the political history of 
the state. 



106 MEN AND EVENTS 



between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Wherein 
lay the joke: The census report shows that in 
the year 1850 the population was 120,000. Un- 
der 20 years of age there were 7.791 males and 
3,606 females; between 20 and 30 years, 44,720 
males and 1,569 females; between 30 and 40 
years of age, 21,460 males and 986 females. Five 
hundred and seventy-six men were found over 
40 and less than 60 years of age. This census 
included the whites, Mexicans and Chinamen. 
From this we see that between the ages of 20 
and 60 years there were 75,796 males and 3,110 
females. To escape that penalty, where would 
the batches find wives? 

The Senate had no love for the colored man 
and they passed that unjust law sent up from 
the Assembly that all men of color (h) could 
not, in a court of justice, give evidence against 
a white. Under this law a Negro, Indian or 
Chinaman could be beaten, robbed or murdered 
by a white man and no punishment could follow 
unless there were white witnesses to the act. 
Petitions were sent up from various parts of the 
state to subsequent legislatures to have this bru- 
tal act repealed. Yuba county at one time sent 
up over half of her votes, but so bitter was the 
prejudice against the Negro that no legislature 
would take action (i). Assemblyman James T. 
Farley, later United States Senator, in 1857 en- 
deavored to remove the disgrace from Califor- 



(Ii) Tlie Supreme Court at that time declared that 
all men of color included the Negro, the Indian and 
the Chinaman. 

(i) The colored men of San Francisco in 1853 sent 
a petition to the legislature asking that the law be 
repealed. It created as much excitement in the house 
as would a sizzling bomb. One member moved that 
it be thrown out of the window; another member 
moved that the infamous document be thrown aside. 
The legislature of 1854 received from some Quakers 
living in London, England, an abolition address in 
pamphlet form. So foolish and angry was that dig- 
nified body that on April 14th a resolution was intro- 
duced to burn the documents. The resolution created 
a long discussion and linally it was indctinitely post- 
poned. Henry A. Crabb, a pro-slavery man, said it 
should have been received with silent contempt. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 107 

nia under the cover of a bill to quiet land titles. 
It declared that all persons could testify in a 
court of justice. The pro-slavery men of the 
Assembly speedily crushed it. If passed it 
would have given the Negro his rights. 

The capital was the cat's paw of many a 
scheming politician, and not until its final loca- 
tion at Sacramento did it cease to be such. 

When the constitutional delegates began dis- 
cussing a capital location the citizens of Monte- 
rey endeavored to have that town selected, but 
the delegates were so dissatisfied with the poor 
accommodations that they selected San Jose as 
the first capital seat. The San Joseans had also 
made many promises, among others the dona- 
tion of thirty acres of land, worth $60,000, and 
suitable legislative buildings thereon, if San 
Jose became the capital seat. 

The legislature found the accommodations at 
San Jose worse than at Monterey. Speculators 
had engaged all of the rooms and they were 
renting them at exorbitant rates. The streets 
were muddy and well nigh impassable ; and, to 
make matters worse, the buildings were unfin- 
ished. Citizens hired a small building for legis- 
lative use. They paid $4,000 a month rental. In 
less than three days after the organization of the 
legislature Tingley of Sacramento offered a re- 
moval bill. It was tabled, however, as the citi- 
zens bribed the members by tendering them, De- 
cember 27th, a grand ball. The Governor, his 
staff and the state militia were present. There 
was still much grumbling, however, and January 
29th Selim E. Woodward of Monterey, son of 
the poet who wrote "The Old Oaken Bucket," 
introduced a resolution (which was passed) that 
the chairman on public buildings (Broderick) 
report a bill for the location of the capital (j). 
The legislature, however, left the matter to the 
people. They voted for Vallejo. 

The legislature assembled at Vallejo January 
5, 1852, under anything but pleasing conditions. 
The streets were almost impassable because of 
mud ; the state house was incomplete, and the 
hotel accommodations so poor that there was a 
scarcity of chairs, food and beds. The legislators 



108 MEX AND EVENTS 

were compelled to use boxes for chairs, and sleep 
upon the floor. Over a hundred persons slept on 
the steamer Empire, which brought the Southern 
members from San Francisco. 

Under these conditions, especially as golden 
ducats were in sight, about the first subject of 
debate after organization was the removal ques- 
tion. Sacramento now came to the front with a 
strtjng and influential claim for permanent loca- 
tion (k). In the previovis year she had made a 
strong fight for the capital. Pierre B. Cornwall, 
a leading Sacramento merchant, had resigned in 
the interest of capital location and a strong 
booster had succeeded him. 

The Assembly after a short debate, by a \ote 
of 29 to 27, resolved to meet in Sacramento Jan- 
uary 13, 1852. The Senate balked, nor could 
Sacramento's friends win out, for Broderick was 
fighting their claim. He was pulling in another 
direction, and January 8th and 9th (Friday and 
.Saturday) they fought. ( )n Sunday some potent 
influence mo\ed its magic s])ell over the Senate, 



(j) After the legislators passed the resolution fa- 
voring a new capital location, free whisky, cigars and 
champagne were nowhere to be found. Xot a single 
citizen said "Come, let's take a drink." At that time 
the members were paid their salary and mileage in 
state script, worth 50 cents on the dollar only. The 
merchants and hotels had been taking the scrip at par 
value. Now they had no use for it, and members 
were compelled to pay coin or gold dust. The mem- 
liers did not forget this, as it was an actual hardship. 
The legislators were all poor and at times they were 
compelled to borrow money to pay board and lodging 
l)ills. 

'I'lie City hotel was the only lodging and meal place 
in San Jose. For board only they paid $5 a day. $2 
for a bed and $1 for space to sleep in your own blank- 
ets upon the floor. As the members received $16 a 
day only, in script, their legislative lives were one 
of trouble and jihilanthropy ratlicr than jilcasurc and 
wealth. 

(k) During the year the county had erected a line 
two-story l^rick l)uilding and the Court of Sessions 
tendered the legishiture the use of it. The citizens 
tlicn appointed a committee, and visiting Vallejo they 
offered the legislature the free use of the building, free 
tickets to the American theater and to a grand ball, a 
welcome to their homes and the freedom of the city. 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 109 

and on Monday by a majority of two they voted 
to meet in Sacramento (1). On arrival Tuesday 
morning they were met at the wharf by a large 
crowd of citizens. The bells were rung, salutes 
fired and a hearty cheer given for the state legis- 
lature. That evening the members were ten- 
dered a ball and supper in the Orleans Hotel, the 
citizens putting up $20 each for tickets. Over 
100 ladies and 300 gentlemen from all ])arts of 
the state were present. Finishing the session in 
Sacramento, they adjourned May 4th to meet 
in January, 1853, at Vallejo. 

It was during the session of this legislature 
that Broderick, March 17, fought his first duel, 
and by a singular incident he saved his life. In 
the Democratic convention held that year in 
Sacramento to elect delegates to the Baltimore 
con\ention, Broderick in a speech offended ex- 
Governor Smith of Virginia. His son, J. Caleb 
Smith, challenged Broderick. He accepted the 
challenge, and the duel was fought on the day 
mentioned. The spot selected was Alameda 
county, now aliout the center of Oakland. An 
excursion l:)oat was run from San Francisco to 
the Oakland embarcadero. and over two hundred 
persons were present, including the sheriff of the 
county and the father of young Smith. 

The weapons selected were navy revolvers. 
The men's distance apart was ten paces. Just 
l)cf()re the pistols were handed to the principals, 
Broderick, taking his gold watch from his fob 
pocket, held it out to his second. "Put your 
watch in your pocket," replied the second. "If 
you are shot, die like a gentleman." Broderick 
smiled and returned the watch to its place. 
After exchanging six shots without injury to 
either party, the sheriff stopped the duel. The 
onlookers were disgusted with such poor marks- 



CD Said a correspondent to the San Joaciuin Re- 
publican: "On the afternoon of that day on board 
the steamer Empire the legislature took passage for 
Sacramento, and if all the champagne and whisky 
which was drunk on that occasion had been poured 
into the channel, the levee city would have been as 
l)adlv overflowed as in '49." 



110 MEN AND EVENTS 

manship. They, just as are the automobile race 
spectators of today, were looking for blood and 
a killing. Upon examination of Broderick's 
clothing, it was seen that Smith's second bullet 
had flattened against Broderick's watch. It was 
found in his pocket. The watch had saved his 
life. His work was just begun, fighting for Cali- 
fornia and the Union. 

The California Senators, Wm. A. Gwin and 
John C. Fremont, arrived in Washington late in 
February, 1850. They found Congress fiercely 
fighting over the state's admission. President 
Fillmore in his annual message had recommend- 
ed that California be admitted, and Stephen A. 
Douglass had again introduced his California 
bill. The Southern leaders fought it with all of 
the influence and power at their command, as 
the admission of California as a free state would 
give the north the balance of power. There were 
at the time fifteen free and fifteen slave states. 
John C. Calhoun declared it was an infamous act, 
the organization of a state without the consent 
of Congress. Robert Toombs boldly asserted 
that if California were admitted the South would 
secede from the Union. 

During the struggle Henry Clay introduced his 
celebrated compromise, or omnibus bill. It pro- 
\i(lcd for the admission of California to the Union 
as a free state, and conceded certain measures to 
the South. Daniel Webster's famous seventh of 
March speech in favor of this bill became his- 
toric. The Clay compromise passed the Senate 
August 13th by a vote of 34 to 18. In the fol- 
lowing month, September 7th, by a vote of 150 
to 56 it passed the House of Representatives. 
All of the Southern members voted against it. 
The President on September 9th signed the bill 
and it was a law. The new state constitution was 
delivered to John Bidwell, who had gone east to 
work for the admission of the state. It was confi- 
dently believed in this state that the bill would 
pass. Anxiously the people awaited the arrival of 
the news. Months passed, however, and there 
were threatening talks of forming an independent 
state. "In Sacramento," says Bancroft, "Judge 
Thomas of the district court openly reproached 



ORGANIZATION OF STATE 111 

the government for neglect, and Bear Flag senti- 
ments were heard in the streets." The press, 
however, counseled patience and happily averted 
great confusoin, if not anarchy, had such a move- 
ment taken place. 

For weeks the lookout on Telegraph Hill had 
been unusually vigilant awaiting the news. On 
the morning of October 18th he was rewarded, 
as a steamer entered the Golden Gate covered 
with bunting and flags from stem to stern and 
at her mizzen mast bearing the pennant, "Cali- 
fornia is a state." Immediately the watchman 
knew the meaning, and throwing out both arms 
of the semaphore, which indicated an approach- 
ing steamer, he raised aloft the Stars and Stripes. 
The steamer fired a signal gun and continued 
firing. Citizens, hearing the cannonading, wildly 
rushed to Clark's point (m) to learn the news. 
When they learned that California had been ad- 
mitted to the Union, they embraced each other, 
yelled, shouted, threw high their hats in the air 
and danced around as though insane. The news 
quickly spread through the town. Merchants, 
some of them hatless, left their stores unattended 
and came running breathlessly to the steamer. 

As the hours passed the excitement seemed to 
increase. Flags of every nation were run up to 
ship's mast and housetop, and cheers were given 
again and again for Henry Clay, Thomas Benton, 
the Union and California. The flagstaff hal- 
yards of the Plaza were then out of order, and 
$200 was quickly contributed "for the fellow who 
shinned up the flagstaff" and fixed them. Then 
the two cannon of the revenue cutter were hauled 
to the plaza and during the day they sent forth 
their welcome reports. In the evening the pub- 
lic thoroughfare was crowded with smiling faces. 
Almost every public building and all the sa- 
loons and places of amusement were brilliantly 
illuminated, music from many bands assisted the 
excitement, balls and parties were hastily got- 



(m) Clark's point was so named after Wm. Clark, 
a pioneer of 1846. In 1850 he built the first wharf in 
San Francisco, and there the steamers landed. It is 
now the corner of Sansome and Clay streets 



112 MEN AXD EVENTS 

ten up, bonhres blazed upon the liills and rockets 
were incessantly thrown into the air until the 
dawn of another day. 

The San Francisco press issued papers con- 
taining the news, one hour after its arrival. They 
sold for one dollar each, and the New York 
papers brought five dollars per copy. 

At that time two lines of stages were running 
to San Jose, Crandall's and an opposition line. 
Both stages filled with passengers, the drivers 
drove furiously for their destination. As the 
stages were drawn o^■er the road, bounding from 
side to side, the farmers came hurr^'ing to the 
road to see what was the matter. The passengers 
would shout "California admitted to the Union." 
In a cloud of dust the stages rolled on to San 
Jose, one beating the other five minutes only in 
their sixty-mile race. 

Again was the event celebrated, October 29th, 
by a procession, oration an illumination and a 
grand ball. The procession comprised bands of 
music, fi\e fire engine companies, military com- 
panies, the California ])ioneers, civic and secret 
societies and a body of Chinamen dressed in their 
gorgeous costumes. They carried a banner in- 
scribed "The China Boys." They were the prin- 
cipal feature of the procession. The orator was 
Nathaniel Bennett and the jxietess was Mrs. N. P. 
Willi.s. 



i" 

if 



^dtMM3t-''^i^ .^-g^^-^^l^/^,;:!-;^^^ 



fe^* 




)wer, Stockton in 1849. Upper, San Francisco, Corner of Clay and Kearny. 
Showing the two famous gambling houses and the water of the bay 
washing Montgomery street. 



CHAPTER \TTT. 

ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR 
BIGLER. 

The first political conventions in California 
were held in 1851, the Democrats assembling 
May 19th in Benicia and the Whigs May 26th 
in San Francisco. The Benicia convention was 
composed of a solid body of Democrats who in 
after years became famous in state and nation. 
In their platform they censured the government 
because it had not, as they claimed, guarded the 
frontier against the Indians, provided postal fa- 
cilities for California nor built a mint at San 
Francisco. They glorified the party and declared 
Thomas Jeft'erson was its founder. Alexander 
Hamilton was the father of "Whiggery," de- 
clared the Democrats. The Whigs found no 
fault with the government, for, if the Democratic 
platform told the truth, the President had filled 
all of the federal offices of California with Whigs 
from other states. 

The Whigs in their i)latfon'n favored gi\ing 
subsidies to steamshij) companies running steam- 
ers from San Francisco to the Sandwich Islands, 
and to railroad promoters who would build an 
overland railroad. They favored a pre-emption 
law that would give 160 acres of land to actual 
settlers ; that the government should preserve 
the mineral lands for the miners free of cost, and 
give to the state liberal grants of land for edu- 
•cational purposes. 

The Democratic nominee for Governor was 
John Bigler (a), because of his big heart, gen- 
erous nature and strong sympathy for the unfor- 
tunate (b). Me was unpolished, gruff in man- 
ner and ignc^rant in many respects, and because 
of this the Southern wing of the party dubbed 

114 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 115 

him a "Northern mudsill." The Southerners 
worked and voted for the Whig nominee, Pier- 
son B. Reading", a man of Southern birth, a quiet, 
refined and educated pioneer of 1844 and a large 
landholder of Northern California. The miners 
voted for Bigler and he received 22,613 votes to 
Reading's 21,531 (c). It was the closest guber- 
natorial vote in state history. 

Bigler in his inaugural address severely de- 
nounced the Chinese and recommended that laws 
be passed checking the immigration of "coolie 
labor." In only one way could such immigration 



(a) John Bigler came to California overland in 1849. 
He was of German birth and having to work in earlj^ 
life he obtained a limited education only. Persevering 
and industrious, however, he first learned the printer's 
trade, and then began studying law. Locating in Sac- 
ramento, he found no opening as a lawyer and he 
became an auctioneer. Then for a time he chopped 
wood, and later he took a job unloading freight from 
the Sacramento steamers. He received $2.00 an hour 
for his work. Soon after this he was elected to the 
Assemblj^ and then received the Democratic nomina- 
tion for Governor. 

(b) In recording this period of suffering and death 
Dr. John Morse says, "Bigler braved every danger and 
with his own hands administered relief to the suffering. 
On the 23rd of Octol)er, 1850, the deaths were many 
and John Bigler stayed at the cemetery until dark, with 
an assistant, burying the dead." 

(c) It was said that the moneyed power of San 
Francisco sent over $200,000 into Tuolumne county to 
beat Bigler. 

The people's nag, he cant' be beat. 

It matters not how long the heat, 

Let the moneyed power bring on their tin, 

The mountain boys will rope it in. 

The manufacturers' groveling press 
May all pitch in and do their best; 
The working men are wide awake 
And honest John will win the stake. 

Chorus: 

We're bound to run all night, 

We're bound to run all day. 
We'll bet our money on the people's nag 

And win on election day. 

— Miners' Campaign Song. 



il6 MEN AND EVENTS 

be checked and those who were here forced to 
emigrate, and that was by taxation. Then the 
cry went forth from merchant and citizen, "tax 
the Chinese." There are two ways of persecut- 
ing a people or race, by law or by physical force. 
In the case of the Chinaman l:»oth ways were 
employed. The civilized and intelligent used 
the law; the ignorant and degraded made use of 
brickl)ats, stones, clubs and fire. The legislature 
again enforced the "foreign miners' tax," with 
this difiference. Chinamen only were the victims. 
As a starter, in 1852 they enacted a law taxing 
all Chinese miners $3.00 per month. John kept 
on digging gold. Then the legislature passed a 
law taxing all foreigners $4 per month, the Chi- 
naman's tax increasing yearly $2 per month. 
The Whig legislature of 1855 passed a uniform 
tax law of $4 per month. 

Then came the cry for a Chinese law, and it 
was enacted that all aliens upon arrival must 
pay a $50 head tax ; if not paid within three days 
the ship was made responsible. As this touched 
the ship owners' pockets, they made up a test 
case. "Unconstitutional," said the Supreme 
Court. In 1858 the legislature tried it again, by 
passing a law prohibiting all Mongolians from 
landing upon California's shores. Any captain 
landing an alien was guilty of a misdemeanor. 
The ship owners again sent a case to the Su- 
preme Court, with the same decision, "unconsti- 
tutional." That words appears to be the shibbo- 
leth of capital, the knell of lal)or. The legisla- 
tors ap])arentl}- discouraged, the subject was 
not again under discussion until 1860. Then a 
petition with 8.000 signers came up from San 
Francisco asking the legislature to pass a "coolie 
bill." The petition was laid upon the table, as 
there were questions before them of far greater 
importance. The Chinese question did not again 
claim legislative action until 1871. We will 
again consider its history. 

In the earlier history of tiic Chinese ([uestion 
the o])])osition to Chinese immigration was lim- 
ited. The constitution i)rohibited slavery, but 
it said nothing about cheap labor. The mer- 
chant wanted more customers to buy his goods, 



ADIMINISTRATIOX OF BIGLER 117 

the capitalists wanted cheap labor to work in the 
gold mines, building bridges and flumes and dig- 
ging canals. The immense tule and marsh lands 
of the interior are splendid rice fields awaiting 
development. Across the water, a four weeks' 
journey, there is an army of cheap labor ready 
and willing to come and do the white man's 
work. Why not import and work them? It was 
the question asked by the pro-slavery pioneers. 
A bill was passed by the Assembly "to enforce 
the observance for labor contracts made without 
the state." It Avas intended to apply to Chinese 
only, and it made valid, in California, contracts 
made in China for coolie labor, the wages run- 
ning from $8 to $10 per month. The time of 
servitude was not to exceed five years. Had the 
bill gone to Governor McDougal he would have 
signed it. In his inaugural he declared that the 
Chinese were the most desirable of adopted citi- 
zens. The Senate voted down the bill. Brod- 
erick strongly opposed it because he disapproved 
of slavery in any form, negro or Chinaman. Phil- 
lip Roach, one of the leading Democrats until 
his death in 1889, contended that cheap, labor, 
especially of the servile class, .had a tendency to 
degrade white labor, and a wrong to the work- 
ing class was an injury to the state. This was 
the only bill ever introduced into the legislature 
in the interest of the Mongolian. 

In the state election of 1854 Governor Bigler 
was again elected Governor. He was the only 
Governor twice elected to that oftice. Bigler's 
popularity was great, but that of his running 
mate, Samuel Purdy, was even greater. His in- 
tegrity was tested and true. At that time sev- 
eral parties in San Francisco had planned what 
was known as the "big steal." It was their 
purpose to grab a large part of the water front, 
have the legislature legalize their act and give 
the state a few lots for salvage. The Governor. 
"Honest John," favored the scheme, for the state 
was heavily in debt and he believed if the bay 
were filled in a distance of 600 feet the newly 
made lots could be sold for a round sum and a 
part of the state debt paid. The Assembly passed 
the bill. The Senate gave a tie vote. Broderick 



118 MEN AND EVENTS 

denounced the bill, and asserted that in previous 
schemes of water lot extension the state had 
been robbed of over $2,000,000, while Captain J. 
L. Folsom, Talbot H. Green and others had 
made millions out of it. President Purdy of the 
Senate had the deciding vote. He had been of- 
fered $30,000 to vote "yes," but he voted "no." 

The fourth session of the legislature assem- 
bled! at Vallejo in January, 1853. General Val- 
lejo had not been able to fulfill his promises and 
the friends of suitable locations began agitating 
the removal question. Benicia, Sacramento and 
San Jose sought the honor, but the legislators 
had no love for San Jose because of their past 
experiences in the City Hotel. Sacramento was 
not favorably considered, as during one session 
the capitol was surrounded by water for two 
weeks. Benicia now held out very favorable in- 
ducements. The citizens promised to pay the 
entire cost of removal, give the legislature the 
city hall rent free, and introduce them to their 
twenty or thirty marriageable young ladies. The 
legislature voted to meet in Benicia. Wagons 
were provided, and February 1, 1853, the capitol 
equipment was moved to Benicia (d). 

The legislature of February 2, 1854, met in 
Benicia, and the most important questions of dis- 
cussion were the Senatorial and the removal 
question. "There is only one thing certain," 
said a writer, "you need not look for much legis- 
lation for the people until the capital and the 
Senatorial questions are settled." Sacramento 



(d) Benicia was founded by Robert Semple, the 
owner of the "Californian," and named Francisca. It 
was believed that it would be a fine location for a big 
city. It was on the direct route to Stockton and Sac- 
ramento, there was plenty of deep water and ocean 
ships could there safely anchor from any storm. 

Semple removed to the place from Ycrba Buena, and 
he and General Vallejo began town Iniilding. The 
town was laid off and lots sold from $20 to $50 each. 
Semple built a sidewhcel ferryboat, propelled by horse 
power, to run across Carquinez strait, and made a for- 
tune. Just previous to the gold discovery over twenty 
houses had been erected and over two hundred lots 
sold. 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 119 

had been spending money freely among certain 
doubtful members of the Assembly, and in spite 
of all of the tactics of Benicia's friends they 
passed the removal bill by two majority. There 
was a heated debate in the Senate over this 
question. Broderick now favored it, for Sacra- 
mento had promised him assistance in his Sena- 
torial fight. Broderick was a power in the Sen- 
ate, and February 25th that body voted for Sac- 
ramento. For the second time the legislature 
sailed up the Sacramento river (e) and March 
1st reassembled in legislative session (f). 

Five days later Governor Bigler was inaugur- 
ated. The letter writers tell us that "the scene 
was imposing and impressive." The Helen Hens- 



The discovery of gold greatly increased the popula- 
tion, but a change of name injured somewhat the 
growth of the town. Semple chose the name Fran- 
cisca because San Francisco was known all over the 
world. Many ships were chartered for that point and 
sailing past Verba Buena they touched at Francisca. 
Benicia was then the rival of Yerba Buena, and in 1847 
\\^ashington A. Bartlett, then Alcalde of Yerba Buena, 
proclaimed through the "California Star'' that hence- 
forth the bay town would be known in all official docu- 
ments as San Francisco. Semple was very angry be- 
cause of Bartlett's action. He could do nothing, how- 
ever, but sw-ear. He then changed the name to Benicia, 
that being the name of General Vallejo's wife. In 1849 
the armj' commissioners selected Benicia as the arsenal 
and military headquarters, and it is still in use as gov- 
ernment barracks. It was also the storage or laying 
up depot of the Pacilic Alail Steamship Company. 

(e) In the Wilson G. Hunt they landed at Sacra- 
mento, 110 miles distant, in six and one-half hours. 
They were welcomed by a joyous crowed, including the 
Sutter Rifles. Marching up the street preceded by a 
band of music, they broke ranks in front of the Orleans 
Hotel. 

(f) Immediately the wide-awake citizens began dis- 
cussing the question of locating the capital at Sacra- 
mento. They succeeded in preventing any further 
removals. In 1860 a law was passed making Sacra- 
mento the capital seat. A law was also enacted for 
the construction of a capitol building. The grand lodge 
of Masons laid the cornerstone May 15. 1861. The 
Legislature on December 16, 1869. formally took pos- 
session. This beautiful granite structure cost $2,590,000. 
.\.t that time it was one of the finest capitols in the 
United States. 



120 MEN AND F.VEXTS 

ley came up to Sacramento from San Francisco 
with a large crowd t)n board, the number in- 
cluding the new military company, the San 
Francisco Blues. The Go\ernor in his address 
recommended the speedy reduction of the state 
debt ; the encouragement of education ; the ex- 
clusion of coolie labor, and an amendment to the 
constitution, making the legislatixe session bien- 
nial. He declared that in one session alone the 
clerk hire had cost the state over $100,000. The 
change would sa\e the state over $175,000. 

In this session Broderick tried to force what 
was known as an "election bill." In the legis- 
lature of 1852 he ran for United .States Senator, 
but was defeated by the Whigs. They at the 
last moment voted for John B. Weller, the Dem- 
ocratic nominee. Broderick's scheme was bold, 
audacious and startling. He sought to have the 
legislature pass a bill authorizing themselves to 
vote for a United States Senator, two years be- 
fore he could take his seat. It was a very un- 
usual proceeding, as United States Senators had 
always been elected the ])rcvious year. None 
could say that such an election was illegal and 
Broderick beljeved that if such a bill were passed 
his election as United States Senator was as- 
sured. The Assembly was safe for him. His 
Sacramento friends did not forget his work for 
the capital. The Senate only was doubtful. The 
Democrats, who had been sj)]it asunder in a po- 
litical feud, now united to defeat this audacious 
l^lotter. He was not alone, for behind his politi- 
cal friends stood the bank of Palmer, Cook & Co. 
The opposition, led by Wm. M. Gwin, anxious 
to succeed himself, also had a strtMig money i)ull 
with the l*anama Stcamshi]) Company. Mt)ney 
was freely used. i 'aimer offered Senator Peck 
of Butte $5,000 for liis vote, he being opposed 
to the bill. I'cck in open Senate declared Palm- 
er tried to bribe him. An investigation and 
trial was held, but nothing came of it. 

The bill was to come up in both houses Marcii 
(> and the previous day, Sunday, was a very ex- 
citing Sabbath in Sacramento. Senator Peck 
was a i)risoner in the Magnolia hotel, guarded 
1)\- friends from the Brt)derick men. Two days 



AD^FTXTSTRATIOX OF BIGLER 121 

l^revious supposed friends liad taken Peck car- 
riage ridin.^. Purposely upsetting: tlie \eliicle. 
they tried to cri])ple Peck so that he couUl not 
appear in liis seat. Severel}' lamed, he hobbled 
back to town. Another Senator, Jacob (irewell, 
a Whig' from Santa Clara, was also a prisoner in 
the Fountain house, closely guarded by Broder- 
ick men. Grewell had opposed the election bill, 
but had been perstiaded to change his views. 
The Gwin faction, learning this, hastened to 
Santa Clara, whither he had gone, and brought 
Grewell back to Sacramento. The Broderick 
men then took possession of (irewell and kept 
him a prisoner. 

The Assembly quickly settled the "election 
l)ill" by a vote of 41 to 38. In the Senate the 
contest was to take place. They were nearly 
evenly divided upon the cjuestion, and none 
could tell how Lieutenant Governor Purdy w^ould 
\ote. \Mien the bill was called up Broderick 
was present. Says an eye witness, James 
O'Meara, "pale, eager, nervous, but w'ith jaws 
firmly set, his deep blue eyes gleaming with the 
fire that possessed him, and all of the forces of 
his mind at their extreme tension." The Senate 
began voting amidst the deepest silence. A hun- 
dred pens recorded every vote. The result was a 
tie. Samuel Purdy voted "aye." With shouts 
and ringing cheers, the Broderick men rushed 
to congratulate their leader. The \ict'try was not 
yet won. 

The Gwin men were extremely angry at the 
result and they resolved to kidnap Grewell. The 
friends of Broderick, suspecting such a plot, had 
again put (irewell under guard. The Gwin fac- 
tion hired a desperate character named xA.llrich 
to kidnap (irewell. Allrich entered the room 
where (jrewell was confined and found his 
watchman stupidly drunk. Putting a pistol to 
Grewell's head, he commanded him to follow\ 
On the street he was quickly pushed into a hack 
in waiting and driven to the Magnolia house, 
(twin's headquarters. He was there interviewed 
by Henry A. Crabb. the Whig leader, who bit- 
terly opposed Broderick. Grewell for some rea- 
son was in uK^rtal fear of Crabb, and he promised 



122 MEN AND EVENTS 

to recant. The next day at the proper moment 
(Irewell arose and moved a reconsideration of 
the election bill. The motion carried by a vote 
of 18 to 16. The following- day the Assembly 
passed a bill fixing March 20, 1855. as the day 
for electing a United States Senator. Broderick 
stood face to face with his second defeat. 

In the cojistitntional convention one of the 
questions which frequently came up for discus- 
soin was that of state division. The South strong- 
ly opposed the iKunidary of state as it now 
stands. The only occupation of the Southerners 
even as late as 1870 was stock raising. They 
declared that they had no common interest with 
the North, and they feared their large acreage of 
land would l)e heavily taxed while they received 
no benefit. In 1854 the legislators from the 
South voted for Sacramento as the permanent 
seat upon the promise that the state would be 
divided. In July of that year a paper called the 
California was established and devoted to state 
division. It asserted that all of that part of the 
state south of Mt. Diablo, meridian 38, north 
latitude, would form a part of the new state. 
Slavery, it declared, could not exist in the new 
state. In the following year a state division bill 
was introduced to the Assembly. The pro-slav- 
ery members tried to introduce a slavery clause. 
That killed the bill. The legislators from the 
south of the Tehachapi mountains in 1859 
strongly opposed Sacramento as the capital. 
During their opposition they succeeded in hav- 
ing a law passed permitting San Luis Obispo. 
San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego and 
Santa Barbara counties to vote upon the propo- 
sition of a new state. It carried almost unani- 
mously, and through Governor Latham their 
petition was presented to Congress. That body 
refused to permit any change. The matter then 
rested until 1886, when Wm. Vandever, Con- 
gressman from that district, tried to revive the 
state division question. He was unsuccessful. 
The Native Sons of the Golden West stand on 
record as unanimously opposed to any division 
of state. 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 123 

The sixth Democratic legislature assembled iii 
Sacramento January 1, 1855. It was a remark- 
able body. It was a legislature a half century 
ahead of its time. For they defied public opinion 
and enacted four moral laws prohibiting the most 
pernicious vices of the state, namely : Gambling 
(g), intemperance, the social evil and Sabbath 
breaking. At that time virtuous women were 
coming into the state in large numbers, and they 
sent up petitions requesting the repeal of the 
license gambling law. Their prayer was heard, 
and April 17th Governor Bigler signed the law 
prohibiting any form of gambling (h). 

Another vice worse even than that of gam- 
bling was liquor drinking. Liquor was drunk 
as freely as water, and it was sold by the quart, 
gallon and barrel to consumers. The liquor 
drinking habit began to increase to an alarming 
extent, and the better class of citizens began or- 
ganizing temperance societies. They petitioned 
the legislatures to pass prohibition laws and close 
up the saloons. No heed was given to their 
prayer until 1855. In that year petitions were 
sent up from the women of El Dorado county, 
from the citizens of Tuolumne, Santa Cruz and 
500 residents of Iowa hill, praying the legislature 
to pass a prohibition law. A bill was introduced 

(g) When the first Legislature convened, they found 
the state expenses very heavy. Believing that a large 
revenue could be derived from the gambling fraternity, 
they passed a law licensing all gambling games, from 
$10 to $15 for each table. The saloon keepers quickly 
paid the license, for it protected the game. They 
rented each table, sometimes getting as high as $1,000 
a month. The attic of the Parker House, San Fran- 
cisco, was used entirely for gambling purposes, and 
the proprietor from the rent of gambling tables alone 
received as high as $60, TOO per annum. 

Gambling was engaged in by every class of citizens, 
judge, lawyer, mechanic, clerk, merchant and laborer. 
Gambling was carried on continuouslj- day and night, 
and persons have been known to lose as high as $20,000 
on the turn of a single card. 

As soon as the gambling law passed, then lotteries 
sprung up. They were suppressed. Then the people 
began gambling in stocks and betting on the results 
of elections. These after a time were prohibited. Pool 
selling on race tracks was then prohibited and all the 
state obeyed the law save the capital city; Sacramento 



124 MEX AXD EVENTS 

prohibiting' tlic manufacture of any spirituous or 
intoxicating liquors except for medicinal, chem- 
ical, mechanical or sacramental purposes. It 
was a fake bill, introduced evidently to deceixe 
and quiet the agitation. It did not prohibit the 
sale of liquor. .Vs all of the liquor was imported 
(20,000 barrels of whisky. 13.000 barrels of 
brandy, 4,000 barrels of rum. 9.000 hogsheads of 
beer and 3,400 cases of champagne in a single 
year), how would that prcxent the drinking of 
intoxicating liquors? 

The wise solons, either l)lind or serj^ent wise, 
bitterly fought the bill. They contended that 
the wine consumer should be exempt from its 
provisions ; that eacli county should regidate the 
liquor traffic, and that the people should decide 
the question. The legislature so decreed. In 
the election, September 5, 1855, by a majority of 
5.362 the people voted against prohibition. The 
mining districts voted in favor of the law. the 
cities against it. Even in that day the saloon 
controlled politics. One measure along prohibi- 



delTantly l)roke tlie law. In 18S,^ the (.-oiincil passed an 
ordinance i)ernntting pul)lic gambling during the state 
fair. Again in lcS88 she permitted public gambling. 
When Chief of Police Rodgers in 1890 declared that 
he would sto]) the game under state law, the president 
of the Agricultural Society endeavored to prevent him 
from performing his duty. 'Tliere is now no gambling 
at the state fair. 

ih) The heavy winter rains would sto]) all travel. 
'J'hcn two-thirds of the miners, taking with them thou- 
sands of dollars in gold dust, would visit Sacramento, 
Stockton and San Francisco to spend the winter in 
amusements, gambling and riotous living. There were 
no homes, no societies, no ])lace to go save the saloon. 
In these saloons the miners always found company. 
There assembled the judges, the clerks and the office 
seekers, to discuss politics and the questions of the day. 

The saloon proprietors knew well their business. 
There could be found all of the latest papers, warm, 
comfortable rooms, bars littod up in costly style and 
hung with tine French mirrors, lewd i^ictures upon the 
walls, lirst-class musicians to play and sing, and beau- 
tiful women imported chiefly for their beauty to deal 
out montc, and sui)pl3' drinks to customers. Thousands 
of men became gamblers, drunks and outcasts, they 
taking their first downward stej) in the saloon. 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 125 

tion lines the legislature approved without any 
dissent. A l^ill was introduced, passed the Sen- 
ate and vvas approved by the Assembly (37 to 
16) called the saloon law. It prohibited the sale 
of liquor within two miles of the state's prison ! 

The next question that came up for legislative 
action along moral lines was a Sunday closing 
and amusement law (i). Citizens protesting 
against "high carnivals" on the Sabbath peti- 
tioned the legislature of 1852-53 to pass a Sun- 
day law, but without effect. The mountain 
counties cried out for relief in 1854. The Assem- 
bly then enacted a Sunday law, 37 to 14. The 
Senate killed it. More petitions were sent up to 
the 1855 legislature. They passed a Sunday law 
which was signed l)y the Governor prohibiting 
all Ijarbarous or noisy amusements, and all Sun- 
day exhibition of shows. This law was repealed 
in 1883. In the meantime several state and local 
laws were passed. It was found impossible, how- 
ever, to convict any A'iolator of the law. 

Trappers who have taken the trouble to esti- 
mate the Indian population of California have 
stated that never did it exceed 100,000. Dis- 
eases and pestilence would at times carry the 
Indians off 1)}- the hundreds. Then they would 
increase until the next scourge came. One of 
these death-destroying periods was in the winter 
of 1832-33. A trapper, J. J. Warner, states at 



(i) The Mexicans engaged in many of their national 
sports on Sunday. The Americans continued the prac- 
tice, and it became a day of high carnival, licentiousness 
and barbaric sport. It became the most disorderly day 
of the week, and the day was given over to bull and 
bear fights, horse races, cock fighting, drunken brawls 
and a murder or two. The Legislatures of 1850-51 
passed laws prohibiting these barbarous amusements and 
then largelj^ patronized them. In 1850 the Assembly 
discharged the doorkeeper for neglect of duty. He en- 
joyed a prize tight. Later a resolution was introduced 
appointing a committee to obtain the names of the 
members who attended a bull and bear tight the Sunday 
previous. They sat down on that resolution by a vote 
of 18 to 7. The Legislature of 1S51 was no better. It 
is on record that April 14th "little business was trans- 
acted in either house, a majority of the members having 
gone to witness the combat between a bull and bear." 



126 ^lE XAXD EVENTS 

that time a very violent type of intermittent 
fever swept down the valleys of the Sacramento 
and the San Joaquin, destroying hundreds of 
Indians. The presence of the Spaniards and 
Mexicans in the territory did not decrease their 
numbers to any noticeable extent. But when 
the gold-seekers arrived, their frightful diseases, 
"fire water" and bullets, in a few years nearly 
exterminated the race. 

The Indian, with no friend or law to protect 
him, was often wantonly shot down by the white 
man. One of these outrages was the beginning 
of the so-called "four years' Indian war." Dur- 
ing this war himdreds of savages were killed 
and thousands of dollars looted from the state 
treasury. The first attack was at Volcano. A 
party of Indians was there digging for gold. A 
party of miners came along and began digging. 
Soon after this a miner lost his pick and he ac- 
cused an Indian of stealing it. The Indian chief 
then started on the run for the rancheria to make 
inquiry about the pick. The miner, believing 
him guilty, raised his rifle and shot dead the 
chief. The Indians raised the war cry and be- 
gan arming for a fight. The miners then aroused 
the white men of the vicinity by circulating the 
report that the chief had killed a white man. 
The whites then drove the savages from the 
place, killing a large number of them. 

In the south, in P'resno county, the Indians 
made the first attack. The whites, they declared, 
had driven the game from their hunting ground 
and killed it. They had poisoned the streams 
and killed the fish, and they said they would 
star\e if things so continued. In January, 1850, 
the savages threatened to exterminate the whites 
if they did not leave the country. Soon after 
tins threat they swooped down upon the miners 
and drove off all of their horses, mules and cat- 
tle to their mountain rancherias. Detached com- 
panies of whites were organized and the armed 
miners pursued the thieves. In one skirmish 
two members of the company from Big Oak 
Flat were killed. 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 127 

At this time James A. Savage (j) was con- 
ducting two stores, one on the Fresno river and 
the other at Agua Fria. Late in December, 
1860. the Indians made an attack upon the stores. 
vStragghng into the Fresno store, as was their 
usual custom, as if to trade, with their bows, 
arrows and hatchets, they killed three of the 
Avhites. Brown, a second clerk, was saved by a 
friendly Polonio Indian. He escaped and re- 
ported the news of the massacre. In the mean- 
time the savages stripped the dead of all their 
clothing, broke open the safe and took all of the 
gold dust and hastened away, driving with them 
all of the horses and cattle of that vicinity. About 
the same time Savage's Agua Fria store was 
also attacked. Two men were killed and the 
store was robbed and Savage's wives were taken 
prisoners. Cassiday, a rival storekeeper, was 
also killed and four miners who were working 
upon Four Creeks. 

Many depredations were made and as the In- 
dians continued on the warpath, Governor Mc- 
Dougal authorized the sheriff of Mariposa 
county to enlist 250 men for duty. The men 
were to furnish their own horses and equipment 
and the government provided food and transpor- 
tation for baggage. The Indian peace commis- 
sioners also visited Mariposa to see if they could 
not arrange terms of peace, as it was well known 
that the Indians had been abused and unjustly 



(j) James A. Savage, 1)orn of Irish parents, was a 
native of Missouri. Immigrating to California in 1848, 
he located upon the Chowchilla river and took to him- 
self two Indian squaws. He then opened two stores 
and did a thriving business with the Indians because 
of his friendly relations with them. In August, 1852, 
Savage was shot and killed by Walter H. Harvey, then 
judge of Mariposa county. Savage, in very strong lan- 
guage, declared that the settlers had swindled the In- 
dians in dealing with them. Harvej' took ofifense at 
his remarks and during their hot talk Savage struck 
the judge. Judge Harvej- then shot Savage four times, 
killing him instantly. The Indians had a strong friend- 
ship for Savage. During the funeral from Woodville, 
then the county seat of Tulare county, forty warriors 
marched in the procession, carrying their bows and 
arrows. 



128 MEN AXD EVENTS 

treated by the settlers. Indians friendly to the 
whites were sent to all the surrounding tribes, 
inviting them to come in and meet the commis- 
sioners. Some of the tribes sent their agents. 
The majority failed to respond; they feared the 
treachery of the whites. Among the latter was 
the Yosemite tribe. Their chief. Ten-ie-ya, told 
the messenger, Pon-wat-chee, that they would 
remain in the mountains. This settled the ques- 
tion with the Yosemite tribe, and it was finally 
resolved to drive them out of their secret fort- 
ress, then unknown to the white man (kj. 

Major Savage now sent a special message to 
Ten-ie-ya to come and see him. The old chief 
came, and said the tribe would come the next 
day. They failed to come. Then the Mariposa 
battalion of forty picked men was organized to 
march in and drive out the Yosemite tribe. The 
company was under the command of Major Sav- 
age and Captain Doling, and they compelled the 
old chief to lead the way to the Sierra fortress. 
Some fifteen miles from their starting point the 
company met a number of the tribe coming from 
the valley. They were loaded down with Indian 
goods and slowly floundering through the snow. 
The old chief now declared that there were no 
more Indians in the mountains. As there were 
no warriors among the Indians, Savage knew 
that some two hundred braves had been left 
behind. The old chief was permitted to return 
to Savage's camp. A young savage was com- 
pelled to act as guide, and the company pushed 
on through the snow, from three to five feet in 
depth. Traveling on, they reached a high cliff 
and the beautiful valley came into view. The 
battalion now began its descent, and traveling 
five miles along a deep and narrow pathway, on 
the night of May 5. 1851, they camped in the 



(k) The tribe believed that in their secret Gibraltar 
they were safe from any attack. Said one Indian, 
"There are many places that we can go to where the 
white man cannot follow. In one of the places you 
will be corraled like mules and horses," meaning the 
floor of the valley. 



ADMINISTRATION OF BIGLER 129 

wonderful Yosemite (1). The following morning 
they began hunting for the braves. All that they 
found was the smouldering campfires of the In- 
dians. They had retreated far back in the moun- 
tains. Remaining two days in the valley, the 
company returned to Savages' camp. 

The Indians who had come to the upper valley 
were now permitted to return to their Yosemite 
home, as it was believed that they would give 
no further trouble. Immediately they began to 
make hostile demonstrations. A second expedi- 
tion consisting in part of United States troops 
was now organized and scouting the country 
in all directions, they took several prisoners. 
Among the number were Ten-ie-ya's three sons, 
they being captured upon the cliffs now known 
as "Three Brothers." The next year the In- 
dians again began their murderous work by 
killing five miners at work in Coarse Gold gulch. 
The settlers, alarmed, sent word to Fort Miller 
and a detachment of regulars under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Moore started in pursuit. 
Upon finding the Indians, five of them were 



(1) The valley was first brought to the notice of the 
public in 1854 by Lieutenant Moore of Fort Miller. It 
was first visited by James M. Hutchings in 1855. He 
was then publishing Hutchings Magazine, the first 
magazine of the coast. The Rev. J. C. Simmons, South 
Methodist, in July, 1856, preached the first sermon. 
July 4th he delivered the first oration. Congress in 
1868 deeded the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big 
Trees to California. Mr. Hutchings was appointed as 
guardian and with his family lived six months in every 
year, prisoners, unable to leave the valley because of 
the deep snow on the mountain top. In 1873 the rights 
of the settlers, J. M. Hutchings. J. C. Lemon, A. G. 
Black and Ira B. Folsom, were purchased by the state, 
and a wagon road built into the valley. The Stoneman 
House was erected and a line of stages run from 
Merced. Up to this time all tourists were compelled 
to ride twenty-five miles on horseback. A few years 
ago the state tired of the upkeep of the vallej^ which 
they had shamefully neglected, and returned it to the 
United States government. They sent regulars to 
guard the valley from further spoliation and began to 
improve and restore its natural beauty. Now. under 
strict military regulations, automobiles are permitted to 
enter the valley. 



130 MEN AND EVENTS 

dressed in the dead miners' clothing ; as this was 
considered positive proof of their guilt, they were 
shot. The balance of the tribe fled far back 
into the mountains. Expecting that if they 
would push on they would find the old Chief 
Ten-ie-ya, the troops kept in pursuit. They 
were rewarded for their fatiguing work by the 
discovery of a new lake, Mono, and it is now so 
called. The troops failed to find any Indians 
and returned to Fort Miller. In 1853 a fight 
took place between the Yosemite and Mono 
tribes. The Yosemite tribe was completely de- 
stroyed and the Monos, on catching old Ten- 
ie-ya stoned him to death. 

Trouble also took jilace in the south. In Feb- 
ruary, 1852, a party of thirteen ferrymen living 
upon the Colorado vixqv were attacked and only 
three escaped to tell of the fate of their compan- 
ions. They reported the massacre to Major 
Bean of San Diego. He called upon the sheriffs 
of San Diego and Los Angeles for assistance. 
\^olunteers to the number of 180 at once respond- 
ed, but upon reaching the spot they learned that 
the Indians had fled to Arizona. Word was now 
sent to the (iovernor, and he called for volun- 
teers. A book for enlistments was opened in the 
California Exchange, San Francisco. So many 
persons made application that not half of them 
could be accepted. From the number enrolled 
two companies were organized, the San Fran- 
cisco Rangers (Captain Geary) and the Allrich 
Rangers (Captain Daniel Allrich). They adopt- 
ed a uniform of blue shirts and caps and black 
pants. Before they were ready to sail, word 
came from the south that all was quiet. The 
brave volunteers were disbanded. 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 
CHAPTER IX. 

One of California's problems today is quick 
and cheap transportation. The Panama canal 
will solve this problem, in a measure. But the 
problem of early days was to get any kind of 
transportation, and at any price. Happily for 
the rapid progress of the state, the government 
before the gold discovery made a contract with 
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company to run a 
line of five steamers from New York to Aspin- 
wall. They were to connect across the Isthmus 
of Panama with a line of three steamers from 
Panama to Oregon. The steamers were to make 
monthly trips. 

The company was incorporated in New York 
April 12, 1848, with a capital of $500,000. They 
made monev rapidly, and in 1866 capitalized for 
$20,000,000.' The first Pacific Mail steamer was 
the California. This vessel was 203 feet in 
length, 50 feet in width, and registered 800 tons. 
Leaving New York October 6, 1848, the Cali- 
fornia passed through the straits of Magellan 
and touched at Panama January 30, 1849. At 
that point she made connection with the Falcon 
from New York. That steamer left port Decem- 
ber 1, 1848. The California had accommodations 
for 100 passengers only, but she took on board 
nearly 400 gold-seekers. Some of the passen- 
gers paid $1,000 for sleeping places on deck. 

On arrival of the steamer at Monterey, Feb- 
ruary 23d, the people went wild with joy, for 
they had not heard from the east for nearly six 
months. The cannon on the hill fired a welcome 
salute and William T. Sherman ran hatless to 
meet the steamer. The steamer ran short of 
coal and, says Sherman, for two days the vessel 
lay at Monterey to obtain a supply of wood. 
The captain paid soldiers and citizens $10 a day 
each to cut and haul the fuel. 

The people of San Francisco were anxiously 
awaiting the appearance of the steamer. As the 

131 



132 MEN AND EVENTS 

lookout on Telegraph Hill. February 28, an- 
nounced the approach of a steamer, the news 
quickly spread over the town. The merchants 
closed their places of business and hurried to 
the sumit of the hill that they might get a view 
of the pioneer steamer, which was crowded with 
])assengers. As the vessel came to anchor the 
frigate (3hio, the sloop Levant and the mer- 
chantmen in the harbor displayed their flags. 
The steamer was greeted with loud cheers, can- 
non salutes and music from the ship bands. 

The entire crew of the steamer deserted and 
started for the gold mines. This caused a two 
weeks' delay before the captain could engage a 
crew for the return voyage to Panama. He was 
compelled to pay each seaman $200 per month. 
The darkey cook received $400 a month. The 
captain of the Oregon, the second steamer, heard 
of the desertion of the crew of the California. 
On arrixal, March 31st. he ran the steamer 
alongside the Ohio. The crew was transferred 
to the frigate, and there held prisoners until the 
( )regon was ready to sail. The Panama, the 
third steamer, arrived April 30, 1849. 

William A^anderbilt in 1851 established a 
splendid line of steamers by what was known as 
the Nicaragua route. It was 700 miles shorter 
than by the Panama route. Pasenger and freight 
rates were cut one-third and it was believed the 
opposition had come to stay. Bad luck, how- 
ever, followed the new line. The North Amer- 
ica, the finest steamer on the Pacific, ran upon 
a rock February 27, 1852, and Avas a complete 
loss. She had on board 1,010 passengers, among 
them the operatic singers Madames Celeste and 
Biscaccanti, who were under engagement to 
Thomas Maguire. Then came the loss of the 
850-t()n steamer Independence (a). February 15, 
1853, followed by the wreck, two months later, 
April 6th, of the S. S. Lewis. These disasters 



(a) The Independence with 1.400 passengers on 
board struck a sunken reef off the coast of Lower 
California and the sliip began to till with water. She 
was immediately backed away and run for the beach. 
She was successfully run to shore, but immediately the 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 133 

following so closely each other so frightened the 
traveling public that they refused for a time to 
travel on the opposition line. 

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company con- 
trolled the entire traffic of the territory, Cali- 
fornia, Oregon and Nevada. The California 
Steam Navigation Company incorporated March 
1, 1854, held within its power the inland waters. 

The first steamer to run upon the bay and 
river was the little side-wheel steamer Sitka, 
built at Sitka. She was thirty-seven feet in 
length, and in 1848 was run to Sacramento. She 
made the trip in six days and seven hours. The 
following year Captain Farnhan brought out 
from New Orleans a little iron boat called the 
McKim. He paid for the hull, engines and boiler 
$2,800 ; he sold her for $60,000. Her new owner 
ran her to Sacramento and made twice what he 
paid for the boat. In September, 1849, the splen- 
did steamer Senator arrived at San Francisco, 
intended for the Sacramento trade. She steamed 
around Cape Horn, and at Panama took on 500 
passengers. In October she began running on 
that route in connection with the New World. 



cry of tire was heard and the vessel was in flames. 
The great heat from the boilers had set the woodwork 
on fire. Everything was now in great confusion. The 
few women on board began screaming, crying and 
praj'ing, while the men began cursing and struggling 
for life. Boxes, chairs, tables, doors, in fact every- 
thing that would float was thrown overboard in hopes 
that it would save life. Over 200 perished, this in- 
cluding thirty-two women and children. Those who 
were saved were compelled to remain upon the barren 
coast until March 3d. They were then taken to San 
Francisco in sailing ships. 

Four days later, March 6, 1853, the Tennessee of 
the P. M. S. S. Co. ran aground four miles north of 
the Golden Gate, the first officer losing his bearings 
in the heavy fog. Fortunately the steamer swung 
round lengthwise and Mate Dowling then sw^am to 
shore with a rope and was successful in fastening it. 
Boats were then lowered, and cowardly men attempt- 
ed to enter. At the point of a revolver Thomas Gihon, 
then Wells-Fargo agent, kept the men back until the 
one hundred women and children were safely landed. 
Of the 600 passengers not one was lost. The spot 
was later named Tennessee cove. 



134 MEN AND EVENTS 

The fare was: Cabin, $30; steerage. $15; meals 
and berths, each $2. The Senator alone netted 
her owners $5,000,000 in four years. 

The Captain Sutter, the tirst steamer on the 
Stockton route, cleared her owner. Captain 
Warren, $300,000 in eight months. She first 
appeared in November, 1849. Before the close 
of 1850 the interior waters were alive with small 
steamers, from two to four steamers each day 
leaving Stockton and Sacramento for San Fran- 
cisco. Competition was strong and sometimes 
passengers were carried for 25 cents, occasion- 
ally free. Racing on the river was common and 
boiler explosions with great loss of life was the 
result. There were nine boiler explosions within 
three years due to careless engineers and faulty 
boilers. Over two hundred passengers were 
killed and badly scalded. At that time there 
were no licensed pilots and engineers nor boiler 
inspectors. 

The California Steam Navigation Company 
when incori)orated purchased every steamer in 
the state and monopolized all river traffic for 
(i\er twenty years. It was a splendid change 
for the public and merchant. They put on first 
class steamers and ran them with gentlemanly 
officers and experienced pibits and engineers. 
The usual run was from eight to ten hours, the 
boats leaving San Francisco at 4 p. m. The 
Antelope on one occasion ran from San Fran- 
cisco to Sacramento, 120 miles, in six hours and 
forty-five minutes. The freight and passenger 
rates were fair, times considered — $5 for pas- 
sengers and $3 a Ion for freight. The mer- 
chants were always complaining of high rates 
and the comi)any had at times considerable op- 
position. Owners would start comjjetition for 
the purpose of l)eing bought off at an exorbitant 
price. Their strongest opposition was on the 
."-Sacramento, James Kidd, the Nevada silver mine 
owner. i)utting on the route the Nevada and 
Washoe. 

Stage lines ran tn all of the mountain camps, 
Monterey, and Portland, Oregon. On the last 
named line the California stage company had 
sixty stations, employed thirt\-fi\e drivers and 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 135 

used 500 horses in the 710 miles of staging. The 
principal lines ran from Sacramento and Stock- 
ton, the stages carrying passengers, baggage, 
mail and express matter and from $10,000 to 
$20,000 in gold dust or coin. Stage robberies 
were frequent and over 400 robberies are on rec- 
ord. The longest mountain trip was Mariposa, 
120 miles, a two days' journey. The fare in 1850 
was $30, and in 1860, $12. The usual average 
fare was about 10 cents per mile. Staging was 
a long, tiresome trip, through the hot sun and 
deep dust of .'^ummer, and the heavy rains and 
deep mud of winter. Competition was rife for a 
time and many were the exciting races over 
the road (b). It finally merged into a monopoly, 
the California Stage Company controlling all of 
the northern routes and Dooley & Co. and Fisher 
& Co. the southern routes. The pioneer line oi 
the state ran from Sacramento to Mormon 
Island in September, 1849. The fare was $16, 
distance fourteen miles. In April, 1850, a stage 
line was established between San Francisco and 
San Jose, fare $32. 

During the first decade the mining camps con- 
sumed the greater amount of foodstuffs and ma- 
terial, and the transportation of freight gave 
employment to thousands of commission men, 
teamsters and animals. Stockton and Sacra- 
mento were then, as they are now, the terminal 
water points. From those places all articles were 
transported by pack mules or big freight teams. 
First pack mules were used and from 50 to 100 
would complete a train. Each mule would carry 
a load of perhaps 400 pounds and safely he would 
travel over the long, narrow trails and up the 
steep mountain grades. 

Then it was learned that at a much less cost 
and a saving in time and security freight could 



(b) At the time of the great Sonora tire two lines 
of stages were running to that camp, Alonzo McCloud 
and Fisher & Co.'s lines. Leaving the camp before the 
lire had burned out, 3 a. m., they ran their teams all 
the waj' to Stockton, sixty miles, and arrived at 8:45 
a. m., just five hours and twenty-five minutes on the 
road. 



136 MEN AND EVENTS 

be transported in l)ig" wagons. The mountain 
trails were widened and graded and big wagons, 
known as "prairie schooners," (c) drawn by 
mules, were used in transporting goods. The 
traffic was heavy, especially from Stockton. Six 
hundred tons of freight was weekly carried to 
the southern mines, and over 800 teamsters were 
employed, handling 3,000 mules and horses. 

The wholesale merchants for a few years car- 
ried on business in a hazardous and unstable 
manner. The prices of goods were so fluctuating 
that business was really a gamble. One week a 
staple article would be very scarce and its price 
would soar 200 per cent above its original selling 
price (d). The following week perhaps the same 
article could not be sold at any price because of 
a glutted market. Everything then used in Cali- 



(c) These big wagons were so called because of 
their immense size, as they would each hold from six 
to ten tons of freight. One wagon was built at a cost 
of $1,000 and held twelve tons. The body of this big 
wagon was 28 feet in length, 8 feet wide and 5 feet 
high. Sixteen big mules drew the load. Usually small- 
er wagons were used, a large wagon and one or two 
trailers fastened to the larger wagon. In this way a 
teamster hauled to Mariposa 22,000 pounds of freight. 
He made the round trip, 110 miles, in seven da3's. 

(d) At one time saleratus, worth 4 cents a pound 
in New York, sold for $12 a pound in San Francisco 
because of its scarcity. It remained at that price until 
the arrival of a shipload. A barrel of alum that cost 
$9 sold for $100. A speculator bought up all of the 
candle wick in town at 40 cents a pound. He sold it 
for $2 a pound. A passenger on his way to San Fran- 
cisco brought from Chile ten barrels of apples, just 
for fun, he said. On arrival they went like hot cakes 
at 50 cents apiece. Another individual purchased a 
bunch of bananas in San Bias, Mexico. He paid 75 
cents for the bunch and sold it in San Francisco for 
$v30. One day there came into port an eastern con- 
signment of nails. It was then the tent era. Nails 
were not in demand. An old sea captain as a wildcat 
speculation bought them at one-half cent a pound. 
Two days later came a great fire. He made a small 
fortune on his nails, selling them at 50 cents a pound. 

Losses were just as heavy as profits. Lumber, at 
one time worth a dollar a foot, dropped to $400 a 
thousand. Tobacco was scarce and it went up to $2 
a pound. Merchants then ordered large quantities from 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS l.v 

fornia was brought into the state by steamer or 
ship. By steamer it took six months to send an 
order east and get. returns. So high was the 
price of steamer freight, all heavy or bulky 
goods were shipped by vessel around Cape Horn. 
This took from eight to twelve months' time. 

To shorten the time of delivery a large num- 
ber of vessels known as clipper ships were en- 
gaged in the California trade. They were first 
built in 1840 for the China tea trade. These ves- 
sels, known as the ocean greyhounds, with their 
immense spread of canvas would literally fly be- 
fore the wind. They would carry from 1,000 to 
3,000 tons of freight, according to size (e), and 
make an average run of 200 miles a day. The 
owner received $50 a ton for freight. In a single 
voyage he would sometimes make the cost of 
the vessel. 

Eastern firms frequently sent consignments of 
goods to California. This sometimes would 
overstock the market, causing a heavy loss. Then 
again, it would give a fortune to the merchant 
who purchased the cargo. The merchants were 
ever on the alert, looking for these "soft snaps," 
and some of the merchants of San Francisco em- 
ployed oarsmen and boats, ready at a moment's 
notice to pull out and meet the incoming ship 



the East. They overstocked the market. It could not 
be sold at any price, and the merchants that winter 
actually threw boxes of tobacco into the mud to make 
stepping-stones across the streets. Potatoes were 
worth $1 a pound. In came large consignments, and 
they were left upon the beach to rot. Rents were 
very high, interest 10 per cent a month, and it did not 
pay to store goods and hold over for a rise in price. 
The market was too uncertain. 

(e) The Flying Cloud in 1851 ran from New York 
to San Francisco in eighty-nine days, averaging 233 
miles a day. The Sovereign of the Seas in 1853 ran 
6,245 miles in twenty-two days. One day of twenty- 
four hours she ran 419 miles. The largest of these 
clippers was the Great Republic. She was 325 feet 
long, 53 feet wide and 30 feet deep. She carried 16,- 
000 square yards of canvas. 

(f) On one occasion Charles L. Ross and W. D. M. 
Howard, rival merchants, sighted an incoming ship. 
Running to the beach, tlieir oarsmen strained every 



138 MEN AND EVENTS 

We little appreciate the comforts and advan- 
tages we enjoy. We sit in our homes and offices 
and the letter carrier bring^s us our letters, pa- 
])crs, magazines. We g"i^■e it not a passing 
thought, but sixty years ago to receive a letter 
was a delight, and a paper of a late date, six 
months old. was a treasure (g). In those days 
the only means of sending a letter east or re- 
ceiving any news was by the merchant ship or 
whaling vessels that occasionally touched the 
coast. Each ship carried a mail bag and in mid- 
ocean they would heave-to in passing and ex- 
change mail matter. 

Kit Carson in 1848 accompanied by F. X. Au- 
brey and the trapper, Roubideaux, brought the 
first overland mail to California. It was a sol- 
diers' line established by the Adjutant General. 
Starting in vSeptember. 1847, these brave and 
daring men traveled by the way of Fort Leav- 
enworth, Santa Fe and Los Angeles to headquar- 
ters, Monterey, arriving in May, 1848. A sol- 
diers' mail line was then established from San 
Francisco to San Diego, with intermediate sta- 
tions at Monterey and Nepoma. Jim Beckworth, 
an did trapper, and Kit Carson were two of the 
mail carriers, and Lieutenant Sherman was the 
Monterey postmaster. On the steamer Oregon 
came John \\\ Geary. He had authority to es- 
tablish a complete United States mail system, 
and soon postoffices were established in every 



nerve to first reach the ship, three miles awa}'. Ross 
])u!led ahead and. climbing on board, he qnickly in- 
(juired of the supercargo: "Got any woolen shirts?" 
"Yes," he replied, "one hundred dozen." "What will 
)'ou take for your entire cargo, everj'thing in the 
ship?" "One hundred per cent on the New York in- 
voice," replied the captain. "It's done," replied Ross, 
"and this binds the bargain," as he handed the super- 
cargo $100. Just then Howard clambered on board. 
Ross made a small fortune on the shirts. They were 
tlien priced at $50 each. There were none in the state, 
and every miner wore them. 

(g) Wlien Christopher Carson arrived from tlie 
east with the lirst overland mail. Cornelius Sullivan, a 
soldier, offered Carson $5 for the reading only of a 
newspai)er six months old. Carson refused, as he 
dare not l)reak the seal. 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 139 

town and the i)rincipal mountain camps. At that 
time letter postage was 40 cents for each letter. 
Wells-Fargo would deliver these letters for 50 
cents each. The letters would be addressed to 
San Francisco and the agents would deliver them 
in the mountain camps. 

In San Francisco when the mails arrived the 
people stood for hours in long lines, sometimes 
all night in a pouring rain, that they might be 
the first in the morning when the office opened. 
To hear from home men would pay five, ten, 
twenty dollars for places in line and others 
would make money selling food and drink to 
those who waited. And then such scenes, when 
the office opened, were never beheld before or 
since. "John Smith? No letter for you, sir," 
and the man turned away with tears in his eyes. 
A year from his family, six months no tidings, 
are they dead? The next receives a letter await- 
ed for many months, but delayed by irregular 
mails. The family is all well and the baby boy 
now lisps his father's name. The father reads, 
his face shines with joy and he dances and hops 
about as one insane (h). There is another; his 
hand trembles violently as he opens a letter five 
months' old, with deep lines in black upon the 
envelope, and reads, "Wife died two days ago." 
He left that wife a bride and went to make his 
fortune in California. The next morning a dead 
man was found. The coroner said another sui- 
cide. 'Twas all they knew about him. The blow 
was too heavy and death ended all. 

These are true pictures of common occur- 
rences throughout the state for the first five 
years. Then the mail became more regular and 
the steamers usually brought a mail through in 
twentv-six days. 



(h) A song of that day ran thus: 
"Good news from home, 
Good news for me, 
Has come across the deep bUie sea, 
From friends that I've not seen in years, 
From friends that I have left in tears." 



140 MEN AND EVENTS 

Some places were inaccessible to stage travel 
and some, too small in population to pay stage 
expenses, and places such as this held mail com- 
munication with the world by means of express 
riders. These were light, wiry men, brave and 
strong, and the ever welcome guest of every 
miner. They carried the letters of some express 
company and Uncle Sam, money, valuables and 
newspapers. At first they w^ere common carriers 
and received as high as a dollar and a half each 
for every letter they delivered to the address or 
deposited in the Sacramento or Stockton post- 
offices. On the journey they carried and sold the 
illustrated papers of Harper's Weekly, the New- 
York Tribune. Boston Journal and New Orleans 
Picayune, receiving $1.50 apiece, each tavern 
taking five or more papers. In their trips they 
often endured many hardships and were in 
danger at all times from wild animals, Indians 
and highwaymen. Every rider carried his pair 
of revolvers ready for use upon the moment, yet 
many w^ere killed, scalped or robbed. 

The currency of the state, like the people, has 
seen man}^ changes. First it was the gold era. 
nothing but gold. Then came the silver era, with 
tons of silver from Nevada. And now the copper 
era, in which the one-cent coin figures. In 1849 
gold was so plentiful that everybody had his 
pockets full of dust. 

Every bank and every merchant had his gold 
scales setting upon the counter, and the merchant 
weighed the gold by the ounce or measured it 
by the quantity in payment for goods. Its value 
was changeable. An ounce of gold in San Fran- 
cisco was worth twice what it was in the mines. 
A big pinch of gold in the mines was called $16. 
Its actual value in San Francisco w'as $24. In 
September, 1848, the San Francisco merchants 
agreed to call an ounce of gold $18. 

Coins of any kind or denomination were very 
scarce. Those fortunate enough to possess coin 
could ()])tain twice its face value in gold dust. 
As it was almost impossible to carry on business 
without some coin value, several persons began 
the manufacture of coin. Thev turned out $2.50. 
$5.00, $10.00 and $20.00 pieces.' The actual value 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 141 

of each coin was from twenty to forty per cent 
less than its commercial value. Wm. D. Kohler, 
a jeweler with some knowledge of metals, started 
the business, and later he took in as partner 
D. C. Broderick. The firm made plenty of money 
(no joke) and in December, 1849, they sold out 
to Baldwin & Co. from Australia. The new firm 
began alloying the gold to such an extent as to 
make it worthless. In 1853 it was thrown out of 
the market. Wass Moliter & Co. at this time 
were also coin makers. They turned out such 
fine work and of true value that Adams & Co., 
bankers, insisted that their coin be kept in circu- 
lation. At this time the solid gold known as the 
"slug" was put in circulation. It was of octagon 
shape, three and a half by one-half inch and 
worth $50. In 1854 the San Francisco mint was 
established. From that time on gold coin was 
plentiful. 

Soon, however, there was a demand for smaller 
coin. Some sharp foreigners supplied the de- 
mand. They shipped into the state barrels of 
foreign coins. Then the people carried in their 
pockets half dollars from Mexico and Peru, the 
French franc, the Russian rouble — and for pocket 
pieces the China cent, with a small square hole 
in the center. Then some citizen, afterwards a 
famous banker, imported several barrels of ten- 
cent pieces. The merchants would not handle 
anything, however, smaller than twenty - five 
cents. Soon there was plenty of United States 
coin and the banks began to drive out the foreign 
coin by depreciating its value. The French 
twenty-five cent franc fell to eighteen cents value 
only. The merchants for a long time, however, 
held on to the Mexican half dollar and the twelve 
and one-half cent piece. It made exact change in 
2's, 4's, 6's and 8's. They called the smallest 
value a "bit," hence our term today, "two bits." 

During the Civil war neither banks nor mer- 
chants would handle the United States paper 
money (greenbacks) if possible, although none 
were more patriotic or liberal in giving for the 
Union. At one time greenbacks were worth 
fifty cents on the dollar. Even in the flush of 
victory they did not go above seventy-five cents. 



142 MEN AND EVENTS 

They were taken at par for all custom house 
duties, court fines and judgments, and for govern- 
ment contracts. 

In 1880 the government unwisely coined what 
was known as the China trade dollar. It con- 
tained a few grains more of silver than the Ameri- 
can dollar. The object of its coining was to 
induce the Chinese in their nati\e country to put 
it in use in trading with Americans. As soon 
as they learned of its increased value they began 
sweating it ; that is, wearing off the extra silver 
by shaking in a sack. The San Francisco banks 
beat them to it. however. They declared a dis- 
count on all trade dollars. The public lost heavily. 
It went into the bank vaults. Then it w^as shipped 
to China, melted and recoined and thirteen cents 
profit made on every dollar. Now California's 
king, gold, has been dethroned. Nevada's silver 
queen has fallen and the long despised nickel is 
in circulation, and even the one-cent copper is 
often seen. These, were at first introduced by a 
dry goods firm. 

The pioneer bankers, Naglee & Swinton, 
opened their bank in San Francisco in January, 
1849. Before the close of the year the banks 
were five in number. In 1854 there were fifteen 
banks with branch offices in every \alley. town 
and important mining camp. The constitution 
prohibited the Legislature from passing any law 
chartering banks. It permitted their organiza- 
tion under the general law\s only for the purpose 
of receiving or lending money. The only money 
the banks had to lend was that deposited by citi- 
zens. This money, with their own individual 
coin, was loaned out at one per cent a month. 
As their loans w^ere made upon real estate and 
merchandise that had a heavy fluctuating value, 
and with men that were wealthy today and penni- 
less tomorrow, through fire perliaps or bad specu- 
lation, or debts, banking was a wild-cat specu- 
lation. 

From 1848 to 1854 were flush times in Cali- 
fornia ; then came a reaction. Men young in years 
and in business experience purchased high priced 
lots, erected costly residences and stores, con- 
tracted for large c|uantities of eastern goods, i^nid 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 143 

exorbitant interest and rents, heavy taxes for 
street and other improvements, lived in extrava- 
gant luxury and speculated wildly, expecting that 
if they lost money they would in a few months 
again be flush. In 1854 the gold output fell short 
five millions. Then came the cry, "the mines 
are exhausted," and miners by the hundreds hur- 
ried from the gold fields to the towns, many going 
east. The eastern checked the western immigra- 
tion nearly one-half. The consequence was a 
failure in business in camp and town. The moun- 
tain merchants lost their customers, many of 
them leaving unpaid bills, and the merchants 
failed. As the Stockton and Sacramento mer- 
chants had credited largely the mining camp 
merchants, they also failed, and with them the 
San Francisco jobbers and wholesale dealers, who 
had consigned goods to the dealers named. Coin 
now became very scarce. The laborers who had 
been getting $16 a day in '49 could not now 
obtain work at any price. Rents of stores, rates 
of interest and goods in price fell rapidly, and 
out of a thousand places of business in San Fran- 
cisco fully two-thirds had "To Rent" upon their 
doors. 

The hard times of 1855 were followed by the 
mercantile crash. Every bank in the state was 
compelled to suspend save the banks of Parrott 
& Co., Wells-Fargo & Co. Bank and Express, 
Lucas, Turner & Co. and Palmer, Cook & Co. (i). 
The bank last named was the political bank of 
the state. They entered deeply into the political 
contests and successfully backed Senator Fre- 
mont, Broderick and Gwin and Representative 
Wright. This gave them government patronage 
and they amassed a fortune. In 1857 they again 



(i) Palmer, Cook & Co. consisted of Joseph C. 
Palmer, Charles W. Cook, Edward Jones and Ed- 
ward Wright. The two tirst-named reaching San Fran- 
cisco in 1849, started a bank in a small adobe building 
then standing on Portsmouth square. Their only cap- 
ital was a small rough board counter, some stationery, 
a bottle of ink and a small iron safe. Soon after 
opening the}' took in as partners the two men last 
named. Wright at that time being California's repre- 
sentative in Congress. 



144 MEN AND EVENTS 

backed Broderick l)nt met with a heavy loss and 
soon suspended. 

The bank to first suspend was that of Page, 
Bacon & Co. They were the "king pin" of banks 
and thev made good their title by buying in a 
single year $20,000,000 worth of gold dust. The 
California house sent east monthly to the main 
office at St. Louis a cool million. Nevertheless 
that house became involved. To avert the antici- 
pated suspension, if possible, one of the eastern 
firm, quietly coming to California in February. 
1855, began sending east all the gold he could 
get. The news of the failure of the eastern firm 
was learned accidentally as soon as the Oregon 
(February 19th) arri\ed (j). The report sj^read 
like wild fire and immediately a run was made 
on every bank in the city and for a time great 
excitement prevailed. The heaviest run was 
made on Page, Bacon & Co. Men with baskets 
on their arm broke their way through the win- 
dows that they might get their coin. Men bat- 
tered their way like rams through mahogany 
doors and returned triumphantly with their hats 
full of slugs. That night Page, Bacon & Co. sent 
their silent partner, Henry H. Haight, to the 
other banks for assistance. They all refused help. 
The bank refused to show their books. The run 
continued until February 23rd. the bank having 
in the meantime paid out $600,000. closing their 
doors with the anncnuicement. "In want of funds, 
must suspend for a few days." So severe was 
this shock to public confidence they refused to 
part wnth their money at any price, although 
offered ten ])er cent a week interest, their security 
United States mint certificates, redeemable at 
])ar after ten days' notice (k). 



(j) It was the usiuil custom for the mail steamers 
to sail close to Mci^gs wharl' hefore docking, so as 
to permit Wells, l*"argo & Co.'s agent to throw off the 
express letters tor <iiiick delivery. As she slowly 
moved past the wharf a passenger on board called 
out to a friend whom he recognized: "Page, Bacon 
& Co. have failed in New York." 

(k) In the Parrott & Co. bank a Frenchman, nearly 
S(|ueezed to death in the press, finally reaching the 
counter, presented his certificate and demanded his 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 145 

Another bank and express that went down in 
the crash was Adams & Co. Their suspension 
was caused principally because of the rascality 
of one of the firm, Isaac S. Woods, who stole a 
good part of the dust (1). In the employ of the 
firm at this time was James King of William 
(m). He knew of the robbery that was being 
planned, but a mistaken idea of honor kept him 
quiet. The bank closed its doors. Immediately 
the courts appointed A. A. Cohen, a lawyer, as 
receiver. That night Cohen transferred the coin 
in the vaults to the bank of Allsop & Co. As 
his reason for this act, Cohen said he feared a 
mob would break in and take possession of the 
money (n). A second court declared Cohen's 
appointment as receiver illegal. Palmer, Cook & 
Co. were then appointed assignees, and the coin, 
$600,000, transferred to their vault. The case 



money. Upon receiving his coin, he stood for a mo- 
ment, confused, as if he knew not what to do with it. 
At last he exclaimed: "If you got the money, I no 
want it; but if you no got it, I want it like the devil." 

(1) They carried on the largest business of the six 
express companies then existing. They had offices in 
every important city, town and mining camp of the 
state, and they handled annually millions of dollars 
in gold dust and packages. After the failure, Wells, 
Fargo & Co. got their business. 

(m) James King of Williams, himself a banker, had 
failed in the hrst of the panic, 1854. He then entered 
the employ of Haskell & Co. under a two-year con- 
tract. Carrying with him the business of his old bank- 
ing friends, it increased the business of Haskell & Co. 
King saw the plan to rob depositors, but he believed 
his honor as a servant sealed his mouth. He could 
have resigned, liut he hoped, until it was too late that 
something would take place that would absolve his 
secrecy. 

(n) In some of the mining camps the officers of 
the law, through the process of attachments, seized 
the bank coin and paid it out to the depositors. They 
took the expenses of collecting, in some cases, from 
the same fund. In Sonora, scorning the assistance of 
law, they broke open the bank vault and each depos- 
itor, presenting his certiticate of deposit, received its 
face value. In Grass Valley the agent was Alonzo De- 
lano. He received orders from Adams & Co. to pay 
out no money either on public or private deposits. 
Calling together the depositors, he read to them his 
instructions. He then said: "You shall have what is 
yours, so long as there is a dollar in the safe." 



146 MEX AND EVENTS 

came to trial and Cohen and Edward Jones of 
Palmer & Co. were imprisoned for contempt of 
court, they refusing to tell what became of the 
money. Cohen was tried for embezzlement and 
it then came to light that $269,000 supposed to 
be in his possession was missing. The i)ooks of 
the bank could not be found. One day, however, 
they were discovered floating in the bay and 
upon being recovered, the days' transactions of 
February 21st and 22nd had been torn out. 
About the same time I. S. Woods suddenly de- 
parted for Australia, and to this day it is not 
known what became of the money stolen from 
the depositors in Adams & Co.'s bank, the full 
amount being nearly two millions of dollars. 

Following the swindle of the bank, the gigantic 
rascality of Henry Meiggs, planned and success- 
fully carried out, is ])robably the greatest on 
record. Meiggs, arrixing in San Francisco in 
'49, engaged in the boldest of speculations and 
began what proved to be the heaviest of forgeries. 
Meiggs, who was born in New York in 1811, 
in middle life engaged in the lumber business. 
Loading with luml)cr a packet ship, he reached 
San Francisco in July, 1849. lie sold the lumber 
and cleared $50,000. Then building a saw mill 
at North Beach. 300 men cut logs for him in 
Contra Costa county, Hoatcd them to the beach, 
and they were cut into luml)er. Clearing a profit 
of half a million dollars, he now began specu- 
lating on a large scale, building fine residences, 
churches, a large saw mill in Mendocino county, 
factories, music hall and Meiggs wharf, which 
was two thousand feet long. Then he began to 
invest heavily in North Beach real estate, believ- 
ing that was to be the wealthiest part of San 
Francisco, and he spent large sums in improving, 
grading and leveling sand hills. In his expecta- 
tions Meiggs was disa])pointcd, and when in 1855 
the depression in l)usiness tt)ok place, he could 
not realize on his property the half that it had 
cost him. Then came heavy street assessments 
and Meiggs found himself a bankrupt. He kept 
uj) his high style of li\ing and expenses, and as 
he was generous, kind J'lid ol)liging. none knew 
or noticed that he was deeply involved. ( )ne 



COMMERCIAL EVENTS 147 

way he could redeem himself, he believed, and 
that was to forge city warrants. At that time 
city affairs were very carelessly managed and it 
was the custom of the mayor and auditor to sign 
a large number of warrants and leave them until 
required for use. Meiggs knew this, he having 
been a councilman in 1851, and obtaining a large 
number of warrants he began paying his debts. 
As he handled large sums of money none sur- 
mised that he was forging city funds, and before 
they began to suspect him, Meiggs had signed 
warrants and promissory notes aggregating some 
$800,000. At last they began to see that some- 
thing was wrong, and Meiggs then collected 
about $10,000 and, with his wife and children, 
suddenly sailed from San Francisco for Chili. 
His departure created a scene among his credi- 
tors and the city officials and everybody, from 
the butcher and baker to clerk and judge, found 
that they held the worthless paper of Harry 
Meiggs. 

Meiggs in Chili began a new life. A man of 
high intellectual ability, strong mind and self- 
confidence, he now began railroad building and 
took a contract to build the Santiago & Valpa- 
raiso road at a cost of $12,000,000. It was a most 
difficult piece of engineering, but in two years 
the road was finished, Meiggs making a million. 
He then went to Peru and built over 800 miles 
of road and received over a hundred million of 
dollars for railroad work. In 1873 an agent 
coming to San Francisco paid every one of 
Meiggs' debts, principal and interest. Then his 
old friends petitioned the Legislature of 1874 to 
pardon "Harry, the exile from home and coun- 
try," and March 23rd they passed the remarkable 
law, commanding any of the state courts having 
any jurisdiction against Henry S. Meiggs prior 
to January, 1855, to dismiss them. Governor 
Booth vetoed the bill and returned it to the Legis- 
lature. They, by a two-thirds vote, passed it over 
his head, although unconstitutional, the pardon- 
ing power not being vested in the Legislature, 
lawyers said. Meiggs, however, feared to return 
to California and four vears later (September 29, 
1877) he died. 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE. 

CHAPTER X. 

'I'he pioneers of the early '50"s were very an- 
tagonistic to the foreigners. They behevcd that 
the Peruvians, Chihans, Mexicans and China- 
men would dig all of the gold and emigrate to 
their native land. It was the law of self-preser- 
vation, that actuated the pioneer, the same law 
that influences the citizens of today regarding 
the Orientals and the Hindus. 

Before the pioneers landed upon California's 
soil the idea of driving out the foreigners pre- 
vailed, and a correspondent writing to the 
Panama Star said, "If foreigners come, let them 
till the soil, or do any other work that may 
suit them — the gold mines were preserved for 
Americans — we will share our interest in the 
mines with none but Americans." 

The Legislature, \oicing the same opinion, 
declared the foreigners trespassers upon Ameri- 
can soil and in a memorial they asked for Con- 
gressional relief. In this memorial they asserted 
"that during the year, swarms of foreigners had 
come — worked in the mines — and extracted 
thousands of dollars — without contributing 
anything to the support of the government or 
people."' They declared that the foreign ele- 
ment were slaves, and they had no interest in 
California, except to dig and carry away its gold. 
The memorial also affirmed that the young men, 
just from home, were in danger of moral destruc- 
tion in associating with the criminal foreign ele- 
ment, many of them just from Botany Bay, and 
their increasing immigration would prevent the 
settlement of American families and the coun- 
try's prosperity would be checked. 

Congress seldom gives to petitioners the relief 
for which they pray, especially upon the race 
question. The Legislature, then taking action, 
l)assed what was known as the "foreign tax law." 
It was a law compelling all foreigners to pay a 

148 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE 149 

monthly license of $20 per month. If any person 
refused, the collector was empowered to seize 
their working tools or other property. The esti- 
mate was made of 200,000 foreigners then in the 
mines, and it was believed that the enforcement 
of the tax would monthly increase the state 
treasury a half million dollars. They had not 
counted on the amount stolen by the collectors. 

In some localities the foreigners protested and 
holding indignation meetings declared that they 
would oppose the collection of the tax by force 
if necessary (a). Wild reports were spread that 
the foreigners intended to attack the Americans 
and in haste the citizens of Columbia hastened 
to Sonora, four miles distant. Then came the 
report from a would-be joker that the Mexicans 
were organizing to burn Sonora and that one 
of the citizens of Columbia had been killed (b). 

A few days later a second joker on horseback 
rode to all of the surrounding camps and re- 
peated the rumor of an attack. In a short time 
150 men were organized, and armed with guns, 
revolvers, knives and swords, they marched to 
the Mexican camp. They found the foreigners 
quiet and peaceful. A second time they were 
"sold." With fife and drum they returned to 
Sonora, and visiting ever}^ whiskey saloon many 
became too "weary" to further march. 

The time set for the collection of the tax was 
June 1, 1850. From all indications and reports, 
trouble was expected in making the collections. 
On that day some 300 men, forming into com- 
panies, led by the sherilY of the county and Col- 



(,a) Three thousand foreigners assembled at Mor- 
mon Diggings and defying the Americans to collect 
the tax they threatened to burn the town if the attempt 
were made. In Tuolumne they raised their national 
flag, denounced the tax as an outrage and urged the 
citizens to remonstrate against its enforcement 

(b) A company of armed men was hastily formed, 
and led by Rochette, a lively little Frenchman, carrying 
a large American Hag, they marched from Sonora to 
Columbia. Upon learning that they had been sold, to 
(|uiet their excited nerves they began drinking and 
feasting at the expense of Charles Bassett, the sup- 
posed corpse. 



150 MEN AND EVENTS 

lector Bascom, marched to the Mexican camj). 
They found the frightened Mexicans, their wives 
and children pulling down their tents and hastily 
])acking their little property upon their mules 
and burros, starting as soon as possible for other 
parts of the land. Crowds upon crowds were 
already upon full retreat, the Mexicans and 
Chileans fleeing from the country to save their 
lives, as they believed. The exodus was alarm- 
ing to merchants and they indignantly protested 
against the outrage. Many of the mining camps 
were entirely deserted, as the foreigners formed 
one-half of the mining population. Sonora lost 
a third of her people, and in Columbia but ten 
persons remained. Real estate fell fifty per cent ; 
the mountain merchants saw bankruptcy staring 
them in the face, and a general stagnation of 
business took place. 

In Stockton and Sacramento there was great 
indignation and excitement, especially among 
the merchants, for they were dependent entirely 
for business upon the northern and southern 
mines (c). At Stockton a mass meeting was 
held on the plaza. The i)resident of the meeting 
was David S. Terry. Strong resolutions were 
])assed condemning the law, and they asserted 
that it was "odious and an unjust infliction upon 
the mining poi)ulation. an outrage u])on the 
miners, and as a public measure its continuance 
was a robbery." 

The merchants of Sonora j)assed it up to the 
.Supreme Court. They declared it imconstitu- 
tional. l"he Legislature of 1851 repealed it. This 
repeal was published and circulated in three lan- 
guages. S])anish, French and English. The 
Chileans. Peru\ians and Mexicans understood 
Spanish. The lo\e of gold was as strong in the 
mind of the foreigner as in the American and 
long before the publication of the rci)cal they 
began returning to the mines. 



(c) Even at this earlj' stage of the game we lind 
tliat the meroliant capital cannot do business without 
the laborer. Tiic miner would linxo starved without 
the merchant. Capital and labor are identical, not 
antayronistic. 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE 15i 

The race hatred between the Americans and 
the foreigners still continued. The ignorant, de- 
graded whites began a series of insults, abuses 
and maltreatments of the foreigners, and the 
innocent and the guilty alike suffered. Their 
abuse was especially directed against the Mexi- 
cans and the Chileans, the Americans even out- 
raging their wives and daughters. The Mexi- 
cans, retaliating, began to rob and murder. An 
open warfare was declared and every crime com- 
mitted, the Mexicans being considered the guilty 
parties. Many American criminals for a time 
escaped detection because of this belief. Inno- 
cent Mexicans were arrested, tried and convicted 
for supposed crimes, and several punished by 
whipping. Others were hanged (d). 

One of those cases in which three innocent 
Mexicans came near being executed took place 
at Sonora (e). At that time (July 10. 1849) four 
Americans rode into camp bringing with them 
three Mexican prisoners. The Americans as- 
serted that the "greasers" had killed two Ameri- 
cans at Green's Flat. When arrested they were 



(d) Under this severe law, two men were together 
hanged in Stockton for horse stealing. One of them 
was a murderer who had never been caught. This was 
the only legal execution for stealing, as the law was 
repealed in 1853. 

(e) lUustrating the severe and cruel punishment 
inflicted not only upon Me.xicans, but ofttimes upon 
Negroes for criminal ofifenses, I cite one case of a sen- 
tence executed upon a Mexican at Jamestown, con- 
victed of stealing. The sentence of the judge was a 
dozen lashes upon the bare back. The prisoner's back 
was uncovered, then he was lashed to a tree with ropes 
and the executioner began laj'ing on the blows. Each 
stroke caused the victim to cry out with pain. Tlie 
brute, in his fiendish delight, laid on thirty-six blows. 
Then a doctor who was present commanded him to 
stop, fearing that murder would be committed. The 
Mexican then. loosened from the tree, sank unconscious 
to the earth. Restored to consciousness, they washed 
his lacerated back in no gentle manner with salt water, 
and the following morning they gave him but two hours 
to leave the town or "swing from a tree." Although 
very weak, the Mexican knew his persecutors would 
have no mercy and to save his life he succeeded in 
leaving the town. 



152 ,MEN AND EVENTS 

endeavoring to burn the bodies. The Mexicans 
declared that the bodies were those of two Mexi- 
cans who had died. They were burning the 
corpses in accordance with the custom of their 
country. 

The justice of the peace summoned a jury to 
give the prisoners a preliminary trial. While the 
trial was in progress the crowd rapidly increased. 
At this time a man named Thornley, accused of 
murder, had been acquitted. The mob were in 
an angry, drunken mood, thirsting for blood, and 
soon they began shouting, "String them up, hang 
them, we'll have no mistake this time !" Surging 
into the courtroom they overpowered the officers. 
Then rushing for the presumed criminals they 
placed ropes around the neck of each and car- 
ried them to a distant locality. 

A mob jury was chosen and they were about 
to try the Mexicans when the officers of the law 
appeared. They succeeded in getting the Mexi- 
cans and quickly took them to jail. In the mean- 
time the mob had been gathering in numbers 
from the surrounding camps. Three days later 
an armed force of nearly 2,000 desperate, excited 
men, each armed with a pistol, rifle or shotgun, 
appeared before the jail and demanded the pris- 
oners. The "Court of Sessions" at that time was 
sitting in Sonora. Its officers were : Charles 
Creanor, Judge ; Samuel Booker, District Attor- 
ney, and J. D. Works, Sheriff. The officials were 
brave men and although standing out against 
great odds they were detemined that the Mexi- 
cans should have a fair trial. When the case was 
called the courtroom was crowded. The court 
had appointed a strong guard to protect the 
accused men. One of the guard accidentally or 
purposely dropped his revolver. It was fired. 
Immediately the scene became exciting. Some 
believed a fight was on and instantly revolvers 
were drawn, bowie knives flashed in the air, and 
the tumult became indescribable. In the excite- 
ment others attempted to leave the courtroom. 
In their frantic efforts to escape chairs were 
broken and doors and windows smashed An 
alarm of fire increased their fright In the confu- 
sion several shots were fired at the i)risoners. 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE 153 

The trial was postponed. The mob, "going on a 
spree," finally returned to their camps. The 
Mexicans were afterwards tried and acquitted. 
There was no evidence whatever showing their 
guilt. 

Sometimes the Mexicans themselves retaliated 
on the whites, and the bloody career of Joaquin 
Murietta and his gang was due in some measure 
to the brutality of a party of white men. At the 
time of his exploits Murietta was but nineteen 
years of age, yet he was the most daring, cool 
headed and quick witted desperado of any crimi- 
nal of the coast. He is said to have been a hand- 
some, light complexioned Mexican, with light 
brown curly hair and deep blue eyes. He was 
of extraordinary muscular strength, agile as a 
cat, a splendid horseman and a dead shot with 
either pistol or rifle. 

During the Mexican war he was one of the 
famous Jurate guerrillas and in 1849 he came to 
California with a Mexican circus and located at 
Los Angeles. While there he fell in love with 
a handsome senorita, Rosita Felix, a daughter of 
Spain. The father, however, objected to the mar- 
riage of his daughter to a Mexican. The couple 
then eloped and were married. 

Later they rode to Shaw's Flat. Joaquin there 
discovered rich diggings and began mining. A 
few days later a party of cowardly brutes came 
along and attempted to drive Joaquin from his 
claim. They asserted that "Greasers are not 
allowed to take gold from American ground, and 
you had better git." Joaquin, defending his posi- 
tion, said he had complied with the law and he 
had a right to dig for gold. The brutes then 
insulted Murietta's wife. When he resented this 
he was knocked down and severely beaten, and 
in his presence his young wife was outraged. 
The ruffians then fled. Joaquin, stifling the re- 
vengeful feelings in his mind, retired deeper into 
the mountains, where he hoped the Americans 
would not come. 

Not long after this event he visited Murphy's 
Camp riding a horse owned by his half-brother. 
Again a company of toughs greeted him with the 
remark, "You damned greaser, where did vou 



154 MKX AXD EVRNTS 

steal that horse?" Without waiting for a reply, 
they seized Joaquin, bound him to a tree and 
upon the bare back whipped him severely. Then 
unfastening him they exclaimed, "Now. vamoose, 
and never come back to these diggings if you 
don't Avant to be hung." 

Burning with a deep seated hatred because of 
his three great wrongs, for in the meantime the 
mob had hanged his half-brother, he swore that 
he would be revenged and a hundred Americans 
would pay the penalty. Organizing a band of 
some twenty of the worst desperadoes in the 
state, he began a career of robbery and murder 
that continued for nearly three years. His band 
terrorized the citizens of the mountain cam])s 
and the valley towns and they never knew when 
Joaquin would appear (f). 



(f) On one occasion he visited Marjsville and, en- 
tering a saloon, began playing monte. During the play 
the conversation turned to Joaquin Murietta and his 
crimes. One of the braggarts at the table exclaimed, 
"1 would give $1000 for a shot at Murietta." The 
daring bandit sprung upon the table and shouted, "You 
cowardly gringo, look, 1 am Murietta." Before the 
astonished jilayers could collect their senses, Joaquin 
jumped from the tabic, ran to his horse and quickh' 
rode from sight. 

.At a fandango one evening it was reported that Joa- 
(|uin would be present. Quietly a party was organized 
to catch him. The would-be detectives entered the 
room and made imiuiry of every one present if they 
had seen Murietta. One dancer replied to the deputy 
sheriff, "Yes, 1 have seen him, but I do not know where 
he is at present." The next day the deputy was cha- 
grined to learn that he had been conversing with the 
much sought bandit. 

Joaquin's most daring exploit was at Stockton. Upon 
a Ikmisc there was tacked a large poster: 

* * 

* $5000 * 

* for the body of * 

* Joaquin Murietta * 

* DEAD OR ALIVE * 



While a number of i)ersons were standing reading 
the i)OSter a Mexican rode up. Dismounting, he wrote 
beneath, "I will give $10,000 myself — Joaiiuin Murietta." 
With a (|uick spring he again mounted his horse and 
swiftly rode away. 



THE FOREIGXKR AXD THE SLAVE 155 

In his criminal acts he was protected by his 
many Mexican friends. They would send the 
officers on the wrong trail, act for him as spies, 
hide him if necessary, and at all times furnish 
him with the strongest and fastest horses in the 
country. For this he paid them liberally. 

The Governor oft'ered a rew^ard of $5,000 for 
the body of the desperado, alive or dead. Scout- 
ing parties endeavored to catch him, but all 
failed. Finally the Legislature of 1853 authorized 
Harry Love, a famous fighter, to organize a 
company and hunt down the bandit. Love and 
his party of twenty were as unsuccessful as the 
private scouters, for his movements were reported 
daily to the chief. 

Finally Love, by a strategic movement, suc- 
ceeded. During the daylight the party would 
hunt for the desperado, riding in one direction 
only. That night they would back track. This 
movement confused Joaquin's informers and they 
were unable to follow Love. While riding in 
Fresno county (July 25, 1853) the posse dis- 
covered far off a suspicious smoke on the open 
plain. Riding towards the campers in a slow, 
unconcerned manner, they soon observed that it 
w^as a IVIexican camp. The men w^ere sitting 
around a campfire, smoking cigarettes, others 
playing cards upon a serape spread upon the 
earth. 

The Mexicans believed the approaching party 
were travelers. Too late they learned their mis- 
take. Immediately giving the alarm, they ran 
for their horses and fled. The Love party fol- 
lowed in hot pursuit. Murietta, who had been 
asleep, jumped on his horse bareback and with 
only a reata to guide him. William Byrnes, who 
had known the desperado for many years, dis- 
covered him and shouted, "This is Joaquin, boys, 
w^e've got him at last." Swift pursuit was now 
given to the chief. Shot after shot was fired at 
him, and one shot striking the horse, he stag- 
gered and fell. Joaquin quickly leaped from the 
wounded animal and ran. Several shots were 
then fired at him. Two shots took eft'ect. He 
fell to the earth, exclaiming in his death struggle, 
"No tira mas, yo sov muerto" (Don't shoot any 



156 MEN AND EVENTS 

more, for I am dead). AMien his pursuers 
reached him Joaquin was dead. A ball had 
passed through his heart. The head Avas severed 
from the body. It was preserved in alcohol to 
show that the bandit had been killed. Later by 
an exhibitor it was shown about the state, "ad- 
mission twenty-five cents." 

In the mining camps, as we have seen, the 
Mexicans were shamefully abused. A similar 
treatment was given the Negro. The Mexican 
was a free man, but the colored man was re- 
garded as a slave. He could not testify against 
a white man in a court of law, and prior to 1855 
he could claim no rights as a free man (g). 

Quite a large number of southerners brought 
their sla^•es to California. It was their ol)ject 
to work them in the mines or lease them for 
labor. So numerous were the runaways, how- 
ever, and so frequently were the Negroes per- 
suaded and assisted in their flight by anti-slavery 
men, the Legislature passed in 1852 what was 
known as the fugitive slave law. It was intro- 
duced by Senator Henry A. Crabb, a Stockton 
lawyer. The law authorized any slave owner 
who claimed a runaway slave to procure a war- 
rant for his arrest. Any civil officer was com- 
pelled ti) serve the warrant and make the arrest. 



(g) In 1849 a slave owner l^rought his slave to Cali- 
fornia. Not wishing to take the Negro back to his 
native state, Alabama, he concluded to sell him by 
auction. An advertisement was put in the papers. The 
boy was purcliased at $100 by Caleb T. Fay, a strong 
abolitionist He gave the boy his freedom. 

A Mississippi slave owner brought several slaves 
from that state, he promising to give them their free- 
dom in two years. They all ran away save one, Charley 
Bates, when they learned that they were already free. 
The owner, finding that mining did not pay, started 
east, taking Charlej^ with him. On the Isthmus of 
Panama, Charley was persuaded to leave his master. 
He returned to California and Stockton with his new 
found friend. On the street one day he was recognized 
by a party wlio had loaned money to Charley's master. 
Tlie debtor got out an attachment for the former slave 
as chattel property, and in accordance with the state 
law the Negro was put up and sold by auction. A num- 
ber of anti-slavery men bought the boy for $750. He 
was then given his freedom. 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE 157 

If in a court the slave owner proved the slave 
to be his property, he could take him by force 
if necessary from the state. Any person assisting 
a slave to escape was liable to a fine, imprison- 
ment or civil damages brought by the owner. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the constitution 
declared neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 
tude, unless for the punishment of crime, shall 
ever be tolerated in this state, this law was en- 
forced. It remained in force until 1854. The 
Legislature of that year, the anti-slavery Demo- 
crats in the majority, so amended the fugitive 
slave law as to make it null and void after April 
15, 1855. 

Under the provisions of this law, in May, 1852, 
Justice of the Peace Fry, of Sacramento, returned 
a Negro to a Mr. Latlirop. He claimed that he 
brought the Negro to California in 1849. The boy 
ran away late in 1851 and his owner, learning of 
his residence, had him arrested. In June, 1852, 
three more runaway slaves were arrested. This 
case was taken to the Supreme Court on the 
ground that the law was unconstitutional. The 
Supreme Court at this time comprised Hugh C. 
Murry. Chief Justice, and Solomon Hydenfelt 
and Alexander Anderson, associates. They gave 
their decision July 30, 1852, that the law was con- 
stitutional and the slaves were given to their 
owners immediately, without cost. They were 
returned to the south and slavery. 

Another case more cruel was that of the 
mulatto woman as reported September 24, 1852, 
in the San Francisco Herald. "Yesterday Justice 
Shepherd issued a warrant for the arrest of a 
mulatto woman as a fugitive slave, claimed by 
T. J. Smith, of Missouri. She was brought by 
him to California in 1850 with other slaves and 
a few months ago married a free Negro and ran 
away from Smith. Her owner learned that she 
was secreted on the clipper ship Flying Cloud 
and she was arrested, given into his possession 
and taken back to slavery." 

The following advertisement appeared Septem- 
ber 12, 1852, in the San Joaquin Republican: 
"Escape of a fugitive slave — Mr. O. R. Rozier 
called upon us yesterday and stated that his slave 



158 MEN AND EVENTS 

Stephen, whom he had brought with him from 
Sonora and was taking back to Alabama, made 
his escape from the steamer Urilda, while lying 
at the wharf in San Francisco. Mr. Rozier is still 
in this city at the St. Charles Hotel, where he 
will be pleased to receive any information of the 
fugitive." 

The Negro was not the only person subject to 
slavery, for the same Legislature, that of 1852, 
passed a law permitting the slavery of the Indian. 
It was lawful for any white man to capture an 
Indian, man, woman or child, and compel them 
to labor, the only conditions upon his part being 
a bond of a small sum given to the justice of the 
peace of the county where he resided that he 
would not abuse or cruelly treat the Indian. 
Under the provisions of the same law, Indians 
could be arrested as vagrants and sold to the 
highest bidder within twenty-four hours after 
their arrest, and the buyer had the privilege of 
their labor for a period not exceeding four 
months. An Indian arrested for a violation of 
law could demand a jury trial, yet he could not 
testify either in his own behalf or against a white 
man. If found guilty of any crime, he could 
either be imprisoned or whipped, the whipping 
not to exceed twenty-five lashes. 

The Negro cjuestion occupied considerable of 
the time of the first Legislatures When that 
body assembled in 1858, early in the session peti- 
tions were sent up asking a repeal of the Negro 
evidence law. This law prohibited a Negro from 
testifying against a white man in a court of law. 
It was a very unjust law. Yet the pro-slavery 
Democratic press strongly denounced any repeal 
of the law^ they asserting "that no man's life or 
property would be safe" if the law be repealed. 
A bill to repeal was introduced in the Assembl\- 
but it was quickly killed in the committee room. 

Another bill equally outrageous was introduced 
in the Assembly by A. G. Stakes, then judge of 
San Joaquin county. This bill "prohil)ited free 
Negroes and other obnoxious persons from immi- 
grating to the state." It also provided that any 
slave escaping to this state could be reclaimed by 
his master without further trouble. The bill 



THE FOREIGNER AND THE SLAVE 159 

passed the Assembly by a vote of 39 to 8. It also 
passed the Senate by a large majority and was 
signed by Governor Bigler. 

The last section of the law was passed to cover 
a special case, that of the Negro Archie Lee, who 
had escaped from his master while in this state. 
Charles Stovall in 1857 brought the boy from 
Mississippi, and locating at Sacramento he taught 
school. In the meantime Archie Lee, learning 
that he was free, ran away. Stovall succeeded 
in finding and capturing the Negro. The Negro's 
friends now interfered and a writ of habeas 
corpus was sworn out before George Penn John- 
son, United States commissioner. The boy was 
given his freedom. Archie was again arrested 
by his enemies and a writ of habeas corpus issued, 
returnable before the Supreme Court. That pro- 
found body, Peter H. Burnett, Stephen J. Field 
and David S. Terry, gave the Negro to his master. 
According to the construction of the law, how- 
ever, they declared the Negro free. This decision 
deeply aroused the anti-slavery whites. 

Stovall took the boy to San Francisco, intend- 
ing" to take him l)ack to Mississippi. The case 
had aroused so much excitement that Stovall 
traveled in a carriage by the way of Stockton to 
the metropolis, where he planned to quietly board 
the ocean liner as she passed through the Golden 
Gate. The Negroes of San Francisco, however, 
got busy and had issued habeas corpus No. 3. It 
was placed in the hands of the officers and they 
remained up all night waiting for Stovall. They 
expected to find him on the Stockton steamer. 
They found him not. Suspecting, however, that 
Stovall was playing a strategic game. Deputy 
Sherifif Thompson kept watch of the outgoing 
steamer. As she passed Angel Island a boat put 
out from the shore. In the boat was Stovall, the 
Negro boy and four friends. The deputy inter- 
cepted them and served upon Stovall two writs, 
one for Archie Lee, the other for Stovall, the 
latter being charged with kidnaping. Stovall and 
his friends drew their revolvers and Stovall ex- 
claimed, "The l:)oy has been given to me by the 
Supreme Court and I'll be damned if any state 
court shall take him away !" 



160 MEN AND EVENTS 

The deputy, however, returned to San Fran- 
cisco with Stovall as his prisoner. Upon a tech- 
nicality of the law he was acquitted of kidnaping. 
The writ for Archie Lee came up before Judge 
Freelon on March 17th. The colored men had 
engaged Edward D. Baker to defend the boy. 
He was given his freedom. Immediately he was 
again arrested under the fugitive slave act of 
1858. In the meantime Stovall, facing a suit for 
damages, had left the state. Archie was again 
brought before Commissioner Johnson, under 
habeas corpus No. 4, and was discharged. The 
question of slavery in California was settled. 



CRIMES AND CRIMINALS. 
CHAPTER XI. 

The lure of gold attracted to California thou- 
sands of criminals of every degree, from the petty 
thief to the bank forger. The convicts from 
Mexico already here were joined by convicts from 
"Botany Bay" and Nev^^ South Wales, the "Syd- 
ney Ducks" from Australia, and the vilest of 
women from New York, New Orleans, France 
and England. Some of this class came to carry 
on anew their criminal work in a larger and less 
hazardous field, others to escape recognition and 
punishment for previous crimes. 

The time and the conditions were such that 
crimes could easily be committed with but little 
danger of being detected. There were no build- 
ings or store houses for the safe keeping of goods, 
no banks, vaults or safes for the deposit of money 
or valuables. There were no prisons or jails, no 
well organized police force, either local or state, 
no telegraph lines, no quick communication be- 
tween town or camp. No man had any knowl- 
edge or acquaintance with his neighbor. Ever 
restless, ever on the move, men would be in 
Sonora today and gone tomorrow. No one paid 
the least attention to their coming or going. It 
was very easy for the criminal to escape punish- 
ment unless caught in the act. 

The pioneers or first gold seekers were as a 
rule honest, law abiding and industrious citizens. 
Governed by no law save that of honor, they 
promptly paid all debts, fulfilled all contracts to 
the letter, sacredly regarded the rights and prop- 
erty of their neighbors and cheerfully submitted 
to arbitration all disagreements of rights. In the 
towns merchandise was left unprotected upon the 
streets or in the little canvas tents. Gold dust 
was deposited in old tin cans, boxes, buckskin 
purses and trunks and left exposed in all manner 
of places, without either locks or guard. In the 
mines the same degree of honesty was seen. 

161 



162 MEN AND EVENTS 

Miners left their shovels, picks and crow bars 
(then worth sixteen dollars each) for days at a 
time where they had been working, and return- 
ing they would find them unmolested. Thou- 
sands of dollars in gold dust the miner would 
carelessly leave in his cal)in or i)lace it under the 
cabin floor, while thousands of dollars would be 
left night after night in the sluices. All were 
honest, the better class from principle and the 
rascals because of the fear of the swift and severe 
punishment that awaited the guilty. Those were 
the few months of peace and harmony and it was 
of these few months that the Argonauts ever 
praised and sung : 

Oh cherished be forever, 
The days of auld lang syne. 

Those golden days, remembered days, 
The days of '49. 
The "reign of terror" inaugurated by the crimi- 
nal class compelled the law abiding citizens to 
take some measures to protect their property and 
li\es and they called upon Judge Lynch to pre- 
side. He held office in some parts of the state for 
many years. His decisions were not always im- 
])artial or just, and his punishments were oft- 
times severe, brutal and excessive ; nevertheless 
they were efifective and over-awed to some extent 
the criminals. The miners' criminal laws were 
sim])le and easily understood. Tlic\ were con- 
densed in one sentence, "touch not that which 
belongs not to you." Their trials of criminals 
were short, b'rom llicir decision there was no 
appeal and their sentences were speedily exe- 
cuted. In the trial of every person accused of 
crime a competent person was appointed judge. 
Twelve goo(l men were selected to act as jury- 
men. Attorneys, the most able in the district, 
were ai)i)ointed to defend and prosecute the 
criminal. Witnesses, both for and against the 
defendant, were compelled to ajipcar and testify 
as to the guilt or innocence of the accused person. 
It is ])erhaps a strange incident that the tirst 
])erson hanged in the mountain cami)s was a 
woman, she being the first and only woman thus 
punished. This was in Downieville. July 3. 1849. 



CRIMES AND CRIMINALS 163 

The town at that time contained a large number 
of Mexican residents. Among this class was a 
woman, Juanita by name, quite pretty and small 
in stature. She was a woman of the camp, a 
monte dealer, and lived in a shanty with a com- 
panion. Late on the evening of July 4, 1849, a 
number of men who had been celebrating passed 
the woman's tent. One of the number, Joe Can- 
non, in his drunken mood kicked in the frail door. 
The following morning, calling at the tent, he 
insulted Juanita. Drawing a bowie knife she 
drove it deep into his breast. The Scotchman 
reeled backward to the street and died in a few 
minutes. 

The woman ran to the saloon of one Croycraft 
for protection. A large crowd soon gathered and 
the mob, rushing to the saloon, soon found the 
murderess and dragged and carried her to the 
plaza. 

A Judge Lynch court was organized and 
twelve jurors were quickly found willing to bring 
in a verdict of guilty, regardless of any extenuat- 
ing circumstances. Two young lawyers, anxious 
to strengthen their friendship with the miners, 
volunteered to prosecute the victim ; but not a 
lawyer offered or dared to defend her. "One 
citizen attempted to speak in defense of Juanita," 
says Calvin B. McDonald, "but he was kicked 
off the platform, and the crowd below opening a 
gangway, he was beaten off the ground and 
driven across the river, fleeing up the hill and 
leaving his hat and mule behind him." The e\'\- 
dence was cjuickly presented and the jury brought 
in a verdict of guilty. The judge sentenced her 
to be hanged by the neck within four hours. 

As soon as sentence was passed a number of 
men began the construction of a rude gallows on 
the bridge across the Yuba river. At the hour 
named the woman was taken to the scaffold and 
placed upon the trap. Calmly and quietly twist- 
ing and fixing her long black hair, she smoothed 
down her dress and with her own hands placed 
the rope in the proper position, the knot just 
under the right ear. Then with a ringing laugh 
and a graceful salute of the hand she exclaimed, 
"Adios, Senors." Immediately the signal was 



164 MEN AND EVENTS 

given for the men to cut the ropes that bound 
the trap to the bridge. One of the men bungled 
his work and the poor victim, instead of falHng 
some four feet straight downward, rolled from 
the plank and was strangled to death. 

Brutal and cowardly was the execution of the 
woman, but right was the mob which in Septem- 
ber, 1850, took the life of the sporting man of 
Placerville. "Irish Dick," in a gambling game, 
stabbed and killed a companion. The news of 
the murder ran like wild fire throughout the 
mining camps and in a few hours over one thou- 
sand excited men armed wih everything deadly, 
from a rifle to a pick handle, assembled in Placer- 
ville. In the meantime Dick had been arrested 
and placed in prison. His preliminary trial took 
place that afternoon, and while the prisoner was 
sitting in the courtroom some one dexterously 
threw a lariat over Dick's head. He was quickly 
dragged from the room, through the street to an 
oak, and the lariat being thrown over the limb 
of a tree the criminal was strangled to death. 

In the following year, February 25, 1851, a 
similar execution took place in Sacramento. A 
man named Frederick Rowe was gambling with 
a stranger in the Mansion house. About 2:00 
o'clock in the afternoon a dispute arose regarding 
the deal and they began fighting. Charles Myers, 
a blacksmith passing by, stopped and requested 
them to cease quarreling. Rowe immediately ex- 
claimed, "What the hell have you to say?" and 
whipping out a revolver shot Myers through the 
head, killing him instantly. 

Rowe fled, running into a friend's hduse near 
by, but was soon caught and taken to the jail. A 
large crowd of people gathered and crying for 
revenge they shouted, "Hang him, hang him!" 
A committee of twelve of the best citizens were 
selected to investigate the afifair and after exam- 
ining witnesses, found that it was a cold blooded 
murder and so reported. 

The mob remained at the jail awaiting the 
report. As smin as tliey learned the xcrdict, they 
broke down the ddor and seizing the young man, 
ran with him to Haymarket square. It was now 
dark and the mob, increased to about four thou- 



CRIMES AND CRIMINALS 165 

sand in number, built a large bonfire and erecting 
a stand under an oak tree, placed the criminal 
upon it. A clergyman was then called and after 
brief religious exercises they fastened the rope 
around his neck. It was then thrown over the 
limb of the tree and three men drew him from 
the platform into the air. Several citizens pro- 
nounced the man dead and the body was lowered. 

The first legal execution did not take place 
until May 9, 1851. Then Charles Baker, a young 
man of twenty-two, was hanged for stabbing 
George Turner in a drunken quarrel at Stockton. 
On the day of the execution young Baker — 
seated upon his own cofiin, his hands tied behind 
him and accompanied by a clergyman, the Rev. 
James Wood — was drawn upon a two-wheel dray 
to the place of execution, followed by a large 
crowd. Baker made a short speech, the black 
cap was then drawn over his head, the rope 
placed around his neck and poor Baker's body 
was left to dangle in the air. 

In June, 1850, the citizens of San Francisco 
concluded that it was about time to form an 
organization to check if possible the rule of crimi- 
nals. Robberies and murders were almost of 
daily occurrence. Threats had been made to 
burn the town. The press (a) asserted that the 
courts were friendly to the criminal class, and 
perjured exidence was always ready when re- 
quired to acquit a prisoner. With no other re- 
course, the people were compelled to take the law 
in their own hands. The organization was 
quickly formed and nearly two hundred of the 
best citizens were in the ranks. Each man took 
a solemn oath to assist in the protection of life 
and property, and they declared that no criminal 
should escape punishment either "through the 
quibbles of the law, the insecurity of prisons, the 
carelessness of the jxilice or the laxity of those 



(a) The Stockton Times said: "It is idle to preach 
about the sanctity of the law. The courts do not do 
their duty, and sentence in their hands has been only 
a legal farce for the past year. We fear that California 
will become a land of murder and highwaymen worse 
even than Mexico." 



166 MEN AND EVENTS 

who pretend to administer justice." Tlieir head- 
quarters were on Battery street and day and 
night a guard stood on duty either to give assist- 
ance or sound the alarm (b). 

After the committee was organized the ques- 
tion was asked again and again, "Dare they l)reak 
the civil law^?" It required men of nerve, brave 
and fearless, to carry out the work they had 
attempted; but when on the 10th of June, 1851, 
the alarm bell summoned them to duty every 
man hastily responded. They had been called 
out to try one John Jenkins for the stealing of a 
safe (c). The prisoner was a "Sydney Duck" 
and a well known brutal and foul mouthed des- 
perado. The trial took place that evening in a 
little dingy room, corner of Bush and Sansome 
streets. As the evidence of his guilt was posi- 
tive, he was sentenced to be hanged l^efore day- 
light. When asked if he had anything to say he 
replied, "No, I haven't anything to say, only I 
want a cigar." This was given him, also some 
brandy and water. A clergyman talked and 
prayed with the doomed man until 2 :00 o'clock. 

At that hour the bell upon the Monumental 
engine house began to toll. Soon the march for 
the plaza was begun. The committee, each with 
a drawn revolver, marched in the form of a 
hollow square, with Jenkins closely pinioned in 
the center. Again the police tried to get posses- 
sion of the ])risoner, but Captain Ray was quietly 
told to stand back. On arrival at the plaza a rope 
was placed around Jenkins' neck and thrown over 
a projecting beam of the old Mexican custom 



(b) The alarm was a quick stroke on a bell then 
lianging in a tower on the Monumental engine house 
on the west side of the plaza, now known as Ports- 
mouth square. Three strokes were given, a minute 
pause between each stroke. This was the first bell in 
the city and cost its weight in gold, 180 pounds weight 
at one dollar a pound. 

(c) Jenkins late that afternoon, rowing under Long 
wliarf, cut a hole through the floor of the shipping 
office of George Virgin, and stealing the safe took it 
into the boat and rowed away. Seen by several men 
and pursued, he threw tlie safe into the bay. It was 
recovered witli grappling irons and Jenkins arrested 
was hurried to the committee rooms. 



CRIMES AND CRIMINALS 167 

house, then standing upon the northwest corner. 
The signal was given, and for two hours Jenkins' 
body hung danghng in the air. The members 
relieved each other as they tired holding the rope. 
During this time there lay in jail a desperado 
named Stewart. He was charged with an assault 
with a deadly weapon upon a storekeeper named 
Jansen (d). In the trial of Jenkins evidence was 
brought out showing that Stewart had murdered 
Sheriff Moore of Auburn, and knocked insensible 
a captain of a schooner while trying to rob him. 
The authorities made no move towards trying- 
Stewart. The vigilantes resolved to try him for 
the assault. How they got possession of Stewart 
is not known. However, on the morning of July 
11, 1851, the Monumental bell sent forth its short, 
quick alarm. The members hastened to head- 
quarters and the trial took place. Throughout 
the trial Stewart appeared indilTerent and uncon- 
cerned and sat chewing the tobacco gi\'en him by 
a member. The verdict was guilty. Stewart was 
sentenced to be hanged at 3 :00 o'clock. At mid- 
night the prisoner was given the services of a 
rector, the Rev. F. S. Mines (e). A gallows had 
been erected upon a lighter at the foot of Market 
street. At the appointed hour the committee 
marched three abreast to the wharf, each man 
carrying a loaded revolver in his right hand. 
Stewart was strongly bound and upon reach- 
ing the scaffold he made a short speech acknowl- 



(d) Stewart and a companion named Winfred on 
the evening of February 19, 1851, entered the store of 
Jansen, Bond & Co. They informed C. J. Jansen that 
they wanted to look at some blankets. As he turned 
they felled him to the floor senseless, struck by a slung 
shot, then robbing the store of some $2,000, the men 
tied. 

(e) Stewart said that he had received a Christian 
education in the English Episcopal church and would 
like to see a clergyman of that denomination. One of 
the guard was a member of Trinity church and he went 
to the home of Rev. Flavins S. Klines, then the only 
Episcopal in San Francisco. The family being aroused, 
Mrs. Mines came to the door and opposed her hus- 
band's going out, as he was quite ill. The rector heard 
the conversation and called out, "I will go with you. 
Wait until I dress." 



168 MEN AND EVENTS 

edging that his punishment was just. He died 
without a struggle. 

In August the committee came in conflict with 
the county officials. At that time they held as 
prisoners two men named McKenzie and Whit- 
aker, found guilty of murder and arson. The 
time set for their execution was August 20th. 
The officials, however, were warm over the acts 
of the vigilantes and Governor McDougal issued 
a writ of habeas corpus commanding Sheriff 
Hays (John Calhoun Hays) to produce the 
bodies of McKenzie and Whitaker in court. 
Hays by a complete surprise of the guard (f) 
obtained possession of the two men. They were 
placed in a hack and hurriedly taken to the 
county jail. Three days later the committee 
outwitted the brave "Jack" and again had the 
prisoners in the committee rooms. In less than 
twenty minutes from the time the men were 
taken from the Broadway street jail they were 
hanging from the end of the beams. The com- 
mittee was firmly determined that no civil au- 
thorities should this time checkmate justice. 

These four executions caused an exodus of all 
of the worst criminals from the city. For a 
season the citizens rejoiced. The press in their 
editorials asserted that law^ abiding people could 
now walk the streets after dark or live in poorly 
defended houses without fear of the assassin or 
the burglar. The committee remained in active 
operation until September, then they disl^anded. 
Five years later they were again called into exist- 
ence, and went through precisely the same record 
on a much larger scale. 



(t) Hays accompanied by a policeman hastened to 
the committee room just before sunrise and knocked 
at the door. The guard, complete!}' taken I)y surprise, 
unfastened the door. Hays i)ushed his way in. The 
prisoners were (|uickly found and taken to tlie jail in 
a hack. 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56. 
CHAPTF.R XTI. 

The value of land depends upon three condi- 
tions, the richness of the soil, its productiveness, 
watered by natural or artificial means, and the 
density of the population upon and surrounding 
the land. Under Mexican government the land 
had no commercial value. It w^as given indis- 
criminately to Mexican citizens, regardless of 
bounds or location. Then came the gold seekers. 
The land now became very valuable, especially 
along the water lines and in the more productive 
valleys. 

Many grant owners extended the boundary of 
their lands beyond the prescribed lines. Hun- 
dreds of persons claimed land to which they had 
no title. And so great were the complications 
and difficulties regarding property rights, the 
government in 1853 sent a boundary commission 
to California to clear up the tangle. The chair- 
man of the commission was Edward Stanton, 
later Secretary of War under Lincoln. The com- 
mission found that a lifetime could he spent in 
clearing up titles. They rejected six hundred 
claims, however, and confirmed many hundred 
titles. Among them was the title of Charles M. 
Weber to the Campo de los Franceses grant. 
When President Lincoln in 1862 signed the 
patent he thought "it a pretty big farm." 

The unsettled condition of lands led to the 
creation of what was known as "squatters" or 
land jumpers. These men, finding a title defec- 
tive or imperfect, would "squat" upon the land 
and claim or attempt to hold it, either by law 
or force of arms. For more than twenty years 
these land troubles existed and thousands of 
dollars were expended and many persons killed 
in defending or settling land. The first of these 
squatter disputes occurred in San Francisco. 
Rincon hill, then a government reservation, was 
rented to Thomas Shilaber. When he went to 

169 



170 MEN AND EVENTS 

take possession February 18, 1830, he found it 
occupied by a band of "Sydney Ducks." They 
refused either to pay rent or leave the hill. Shila- 
ber notified the Presidio commandante. Captain 
E. D. Keyes. with a squad of infantry, then 
marched up the hill, tore down the shanties of 
the squatters and drove them to the street. 

The "Sydney Ducks" and an organization 
called "The Hounds" caused a great deal of 
trouble and it was this gang that set the six ter- 
rible San Francisco fires previous to July, 1851. 
The last of these fires June 22, 1851, caused a loss 
of $3,000,000. It burned over the whole of ten 
blocks and a part of six other blocks. The fire 
swept away the last of the old buildings of Mexi- 
can days, including the old city hotel on the plaza. 
Thomas Maguire's theater, the "Jenny Lind," was 
for the sixth time destroyed. 

In the fire of May 4, 1851, the burned district 
extended one-third of a mile west from the water 
front, then Montgomery street, and three-fourths 
of a mile north and south. Over 2,000 buildings 
were destroyed, many of them of brick from three 
to five stories in height. The streets were planked 
and the fire ran along the streets, says the "An- 
nals," almost as if they were a train of gunpow- 
der. Every printing office, save the Alta on Clay 
street hill, was destroyed. The following morn- 
ing, said A. C. Russel to me, "a solid stream of 
type metal ran from the office to the bay." One 
man by the use of vinegar saved his warehouse. 
He had no water and he threw 80,000 gallons of 
vinegar on the flames. 

One year previous Sacramento saw its first 
flood. Captain Sutter warned the settlers against 
locating upon the river bank. They laughed at 
his fears. The waters of the Sacramento river 
began rising January 10, 1850, at the rate of six 
inches an hour. The people persisted in remain- 
ing in their shanties and many were drowned. At 
midnight the entire town was flooded and the 
next morning hundreds of persons were upon the 
house tops awaiting deliverance. That day 
many took their (lc])arturc by steamer for San 
Francisco. 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56 171 

In the flood of March, 1852, Sacramento was 
the X^enice of CaHfornia. Gondolas, in the shape 
of rafts, tubs and boats, floated through the 
streets bearing some sedate Senator or some gay 
senorita, the boatman singing "Over the Ocean 
Wave," or "A Home on the Boundless Deep." 
The water for two weeks covered the entire city 
and stood two feet deep around the capitol build- 
ing. The flood was disastrous. In the mountains 
it swept away flumes, water wheels, gold dust 
tools, provisions, in fact, everything movable, and 
carried all that was floatable to the Pacific ocean. 
At sea for miles ships passed the wreckage. The 
whole valley of the San Joaquin was for a time 
under water, so immense was its volume. 

Sacramento lots at this time were very valuable 
and Sutter had sold a large number. The claim 
was made by a party that Sutter's title was im- 
perfect. Taking possession of several lots, one 
of the squatters remarked, "If those speculators 
are ready to fight, so are we." The court decided 
in favor of the Sutter purchasers and August 14, 
1850, the sheriff, driving the squatters from the 
house they occupied, placed the lawful owner in 
possession. 

Soon after this a party of armed men, led by 
one Mahoney, marched to the house and drove 
out the occupants. Mayor Bigelow, springing 
upon his horse, rode to the several corners of the 
streets reading the riot act. He called upon all 
good citizens to arm themselves and defend the 
law. There were then several hundred law abid- 
ing citizens ready for a fight. Assembling at the 
prison brig (a) they placed themseh-es under the 
command of the mayor and sheriff. Marching 
up the street they found the rioters drawn up in 
line. The mayor called upon them to lay down 
their arms and consider themselves as prisoners. 
The only response was a brisk but wild fire from 
the rioters. The citizens then opened fire and in 
a few minutes the squatters were disarmed and 
taken prisoners. In the short skirmish Mahoney 



(a) The jail at that time was on board a vessel that 
lay near the river bank. 



172 MEN AND EVENTS 

and three "of his men were killed, and one 
wounded. Seven citizens were wounded and 
two, including the mayor, died (b). During this 
excitement Sacramento's first military company 
was formed. Completing their organization, they 
were known as the Sacramento Guard. 

The squatting on a few lots at Sacramento was 
insignificant in comparison with the land grab- 
bing scheme of William Walker, the "grey-eyed 
man of destiny."" He wanted an entire kingdom. 
W^illiam Walker (c) imagined that he was des- 
tined to establish the dominion of the United 
States over Mexico and Central America. 

To obtain funds for this scheme, bonds were 
issued and sold, payable by the "New Republic 
of Sonora and Lower California." Headquarters 
were established in San Francisco. Hundreds of 
people enlisted under the banner of the new re- 
public. As the Arrow was about ready to sail 
with a large company on board, she was seized 
(August, 1852) by General Hitchcock for a viola- 
tion of the treaty law. He was immediately re- 
called by President Pierce (d). 



(b) The news of the riot reached San Francisco that 
evening by steamer. .Mayor John W. Geary called 
u]ion the citizens to assist Sacramento "at the earliest 
l)ossible moment." The following day at noon two 
military comj^anies in command of Captain Geary left 
San I"'rancisco for the capital. All was quiet on their 
arrival at midnight. Royally they were feasted by Sac- 
ramento's citizens. 'JMie}- returned home the follow- 
ing day. 

(c) I'.orn in IV'nnessee in 1824 of Scottish parentage, 
W alker graduated from one of the best southern univer- 
sities. He tiien spent several years in study in the best 
medical schools and hospitals of Europe. Returning, 
he located in New Orleans and there practiced medi- 
cine. He then began the study of law. Soon tiring of 
this profession, he became editor of the New Orleans 
Crescent. In 1849 he came to San Francisco. As editor 
of the San Francisco Herald he poured hot shot into 
the criminals and corrupt judges. He then became a 
filibuster. Walker was a man of light complexion, light 
blue eyes, freckled features and red hair. He had a 
fascinating eye, great power to command, and although 
small in stature, weighing less than one hundred 
jxiunds, he had no fear of man or lieast. 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56 173 

The filibusters now openly and actively carried 
on their work. The Caroline, a larger sailing 
\-essel, was purchased and all of the arms and 
equipments were transferred to the new vessel. 
Walker, in command of forty-six men, sailed 
(October 16, 1853) for La Paz. Proclaiming 
Lower California an independent republic, he 
marched inland to Muerta. From that point he 
sent to the California press glowing accounts of 
his victories. The effect was as he intended — 
hundreds of men now hastened south to fight for 
the new republic (e). With an increased army 
his troubles were many. Food was scarce ; the 
Mexicans harassed them in every possible man- 
ner. Many of his followers deserted, and finally, 
with a handful of men. Walker retired from the 
field. This ended the filibustering farce until 
1860. 

At that time Nicaragua was engaged in a civil 
war. The fight was between the Spaniards of 
Granada and the Indians of Leon. Walker, with 
sixty men, sailed from San Francisco to assist 
the Leonese. He was placed in command of the 
"army" and October 15, 1860, captured Granada. 
The Spanish government was then overthrown. 
Cornelius Vanderbilt was then running a steamer 
line across the territory and Walker demanded 
certain concessions. Vanderbilt refused to grant 
them. Walker then seized the steamers running 
on Lake Nicaragua. Vanderbilt now took part 
in the fight. He succeeded in uniting the two 
factions. They seized the steamers, cut off 
Walker's supplies and prevented any recruits 
reaching him. 



(d) His successor, John W. Wool, arrived in Cali- 
fornia February 15, 1854. He was instructed to not 
interfere with any illegal expeditions. The military 
headquarters were removed from Alcatraz island to 
Benicia. He there could see no violation of interna- 
tional law. 

(e) The news of the revolutionist victories rapidly 
spread over the state, and the stages and steamers for 
San Francisco were crowded with adventurers eager to 
join Walker's army. Upon their departure from the 
town, they would march to the steamer with banners 
Hying, life and drum, cheering and j'elling for the new 
republic. 



174 MEN AND EVENTS 

For nearly two years skirmishing took place 
upon the Isthmus. They fought regardless of 
the passengers that were traveling back and forth 
from New York to San Francisco ; at different 
times several passengers were killed and others 
wounded from stray bullets. Walker, nearly 
starved out, was driven to the town of Rivas. 
There he surrendered to Lieutenant Charles 
Davis, in command of the St. Mary, then lying 
in that port. 

No effort was made to punish Walker. Keen 
for another season of warfare in Nicaragua, he 
sent Colonel McKewen to the south. McKewen 
recruited an army of nearly eight hundred men 
and began making arrangements for their trans- 
portation to Central America. The news received 
ended the movement. Walker, sailing to the scene 
of his former triumphs, landed at Honduras. He 
was immediately arrested and tried for his crimes. 
Found guilty (September 3, 1860), he was shot. 
Thus ended the history of California's most er- 
ratic and impetuous pioneer. 

In times of great danger, fear or distress, the 
people are justified in taking extraordinary meas- 
ures of relief. Times of danger and fear were 
those of 1854-56. Crime throughout the state was 
on the increase, and in three years over 538 per- 
sons had been murdered. The San Francisco 
Herald, commenting upon this fact, asserted that 
"in striking a balance from the homicide calendar 
of 1854. we have come to the conclusion that one 
person in every six hundred will be killed in 
1855." This condition of affairs was the result 
of corrupt courts and judges. The grand jury 
reporting this fact (February, 1854) said, "There 
are those among us who boldly assert that no 
man, however criminal, who has money or friends 
who will ad\ance it will e\er be hanged in this 
county." The San Francisco Chronicle declared 
"crime, drunkenness and degradation reign in 
San Francisct). The theaters at night arc the 
halls of unblushing \ ice. 'I'he Cyprian walks the 
streets in open day. 1 he rowdies engage in their 
drunken orgies and defy the law." Under these 
conditions the law abiding citizens must either 
Icax'c the citv or reform it. The reform could ])c 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56 175 

accomplished in only one way. organize and en- 
force the law. 

The newspaper editors everywhere fearlessly 
denounced the corrupt officials and the criminals. 
None, however, were more fierce in attack than 
James King of William (f), editor and proprietor 
of the San Francisco Bulletin. 

The Bulletin of May 14, 1856, contained an 
article declaring that James Casey, editor and 
proprietor of the Sunday Times, a disreputable 
sheet, "had been an inmate of Sing Sing prison, 
New York, and had stuffed himself through the 
ballot box when elected supervisor" (g). Soon 
after the paper appeared upon the street, Casey 
entered the Bulletin editorial room. Approaching 
King, he asked, "What do you mean by that 
article which says I was formerly an inmate of 
Sin'g Sing prison?" 

"Is not that true?" inquired King. 

Casey replied, "That is not the question ; I 
don't want my past life raised up. On that I am 
sensitive." 

"Are you done? There is the door," said King, 
pointing in that direction. "Go, never show your 
face here again !" 

An hour later King started for his home, where 
a wife and six children awaited him. Casey had 
already planned to kill King. Meeting him on 
the corner of Montgomery and Washington 



(f) James King of William was born in Virginia in 
1822. He received a good education and came to Cali- 
fornia in 1848. After the failure of the bank of Haskell 
& Co. through the rascality of one of the partners. 
King resolved to publish a new paper and show up 
the criminal acts of the "higher ups." The result was 
the San Francisco Bulletin. 

(g) Casej' was a convict from New York, having 
been in Sing Sing prison. Immigrating to San Fran- 
cisco, he added a middle letter to his name, making it 
James P., and resumed his former occupation, that of 
politician. He was appointed twelfth w^ard ballot box 
inspector. In 1855 CaseJ^ with accomplices, elected 
himself supervisor of the twelfth ward by means of a 
ballot box with false sides and bottom. Until elected 
it was not known that he was a candidate. The vigi- 
lance committee in 1856 found this box. In it were 
800 votes for James P. Casey for supervisor. 



176 MEN AND EVENTS 

streets, Casey exclaimed, "James King of Wil- 
liam, are you armed? Draw and defend your- 
self." 

King slowly folded his arms, looked Casey in 
the eyes and replied : 

"Are you in earnest?" 

"Yes," answered Casey ; "draw and defend 
yourself." 

Casey then fired. The shot penetrated King's 
breast. Staggering into the Pacific express 
office, he fell to the floor. 

Casey then entered a hack in waiting, in which 
sat David Scannell. the sherift" of the county, and 
was driven to the Broadway jail for refuge from 
the angry crowd. They had followed after the 
hack shouting, "Hang him, kill him !" On arrival 
threats were made to break into the jail, take 
Casey and hang him. Before they could put their 
threat into action, the building was strongly 
guarded by the police and city militia. 

That night the vigilance committee of 1851 was 
reorganized, with Wm. T. Coleman as chairman 
of the executive committee, Charles Doane as 
marshal and Isaac Bluxome as secretary. 

In a short time Doane was in command of over 
forty companies, one hundred men to each com- 
pany. They were well armed and had plenty of 
ammunition. Nearly every company of the city 
militia disbanded. They joined the vigilantes, 
carrying their muskets with them. Taking pos- 
session of the building on Sacramento street, the 
hall of which had been formerly used as the 
"Know Nothing" headquarters, they turned it 
into an arsenal and day and night a company of 
vigilantes were on guard. 

Three days after the shooting (.Sunday, May 
18th) King's wound was reported fatal. The 
vigilantes then resolved to take possession of the 
two prisoners, Cora and Casey. Early in the 
forenoon two brass cannon had been placed in 
front of the jail. About noon the vigilantes, two 
thousand in number, marched to the spot. A 
few minutes later Doane and Coleman demanded 
of Sheriff Scannell the two prisoners. He refused 
to comply with the demand. 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56 177 

"Mr. Scannell, we give you five minutes and no 
more," said Mr. Coleman, holding his open watch 
in his hand ; "if at the end of that time the two 
men are not surrendered we shall take them by 
force ; the doors of the jail will be blown open 
and you will be taken, Mr. Scannell, as well as 
Casey and Cora." 

The sheriff hesitated until the fourth minute. 
He then unlocked the jail door. The committee 
then took charge of the prisoners and in closed 
carriages they were taken to the vigilante rooms. 

King lingered until May 20th and died that day 
soon after 1 o'clock. The excitement was in- 
tense. The courts adjourned. The merchants 
closed their places of business and draped their 
buildings in mourning. The bells of the city 
began tolling and the flags were lowered at half- 
mast. In all parts of the state the same signs of 
sorrow were seen. King's family was left desti- 
tute. Before the funeral, however, $30,000 was 
raised by subscription and given to them. 

The funeral took place on the 22nd. The pro- 
cession comprised the seven Masonic lodges, the 
California pioneers, the fire department (save 
Crescent City No. 10, Casey being its foreman), 
the Sacramento Guard from the capital, and hun- 
dreds of citizens. They marched to Lone Movm- 
tain cemetery, the bands of music silent. As the 
procession wound its way up the hill, some look- 
ing back to the vigilante rooms saw a thrilling 
sight — two men hanging by their necks. 

When King's death was reported Cora was 
tried for the murder of Richardson (h). That 
night Casey was tried ; he also was found guilty. 



(h) Charles Cora, a well known gambler and sport, 
came from New Orleans to California in 1849, locating 
at Sacramento. His bold gambling bets astonished the 
natives, he often winning or losing $20,000 on the turn 
of a single card. Later he removed to San Francisco 
and (November 4, 1855) in a drunken tight shot and 
killed William Richardson, the United States marshal. 
His trial took place in Januarj', 1856. His consort, l>elle 
Cora, employed eminent counsel to defend him. includ- 
ing the gifted E. D. Baker. The result was a disagree- 
ment of the jury. She expended over $30,000, her entire 
fortune, including her jewels, in his defense. 



178 MEN AND EVEXTS 

The sentence was death l)y hanging. The time 
fixed was the hour of King's funeral. By the 
request of the two criminals. Archbishoj) Ale- 
many and Father Hugh Gallagher attended them. 
Casey was absolved. Cora was refused al^solu- 
tion until after his marriage to Belle Cora. They 
were married by Father Alcoty shortly l)efore the 
execution. 

As the hour of death drew near the two men 
were ])inioned, then placed upon two platforms 
built out from the second story windows. The 
ropes around their necks were fastened to the 
projecting beams above their heads. The beams 
had been used in early days for the hoisting of 
freight. Suddenly the sound of tolling bells was 
heard. The funeral cortege was moving. A 
small ])iece of white paper fluttering in the air 
falls to the earth. "Present arms!" The com- 
panies salute. The two men were pushed from 
the platform and died without a struggle. 

The vigilantes, continuing their good work, 
banished over thirty gamblers and politicians, 
some judges and a few lawyers. 1^he sudden 
departure of o\'er eight hundred criminals was 
also noted. Among the banished was Charlev 
Duane, chief engineer of the fire department: 
Wooly Kearny, a ballot 1)ox stuffer; and Billy 
Mulligan, the right hand man of Dave Scannell. 
Ned McCiowan, a notorious rascal, could not be 
found, and Yankee Sulli\an saxcd himself from 
banishment by ccmimitting suicide. 

Early in June the \igilantes arrested a distin- 
guished i)erso!i. David S. ']>rry. justice of the 
Sujireme Court. His arrest was occasioned by a 
singular event, the capture of a schooner con- 
taining one hundred and fifty muskets for the 
law and order party. The two men on board. 
Jack McNabb and Reuben Maloney. were arrested 
but later released. They threatened to shoot the 
men who arrested them and boasted that the 
vigilantes were afraid to keep them jjrisoners. 

Police ( )rticer lIoi)kins wa^ sent out to arrest 
them. He found Maloney in the office of United 
States Naval .\gent Dr. Richard P. Ashe, but fac- 
ing the re\-ol\ers of Ashe, l)a\id Terr\- and ( leo. 



® 



,.^jc»*«^»»wi«a,ii"«u""'"*""'"" >»»■■■■■" 



M A 

fill ill II I II 
■ fill 





1. Fort Vigilantes. Notice the fort made of bags of 
sand. The two crosses mark the windows from 
which Cora and Casey were hung. 

2. State Capitol from 1855-69. 



180 MEN AND EVENTS 

Bowie, he quickly retreated for assistance. In 
the meantime Ashe, Bowie. Terry, Rowe and 
Maloney, each armed with a double barreled shot- 
gun, left the office and hurried towards the ar- 
mory of the Blues, corner Dupont and Jackson 
streets. Hopkins, returning, met the party on 
Jackson near Dupont and attempted to arrest 
Maloney. In the struggle someone fired a shot. 
Terry, it is said, thinking that Hopkins had fired 
at him, drew a large bowie knife and drove it 
into Hopkins' neck. The party then ran upstairs 
into the armory and slammed shut the iron door. 

A little later the organization was summoned 
by quick taps upon the bell. Draymen in the 
middle of the street stopped their teams and rode 
to the rooms, storekeepers and merchants closed 
their places of business and hurried on, black- 
smiths left their anvils, carpenters their benches, 
and in a short time company after companv was 
f<~)rmed and ordered to the Blues Armory. 

Coleman, on arrival, knocked loudly upt)n the 
iron door. In response Richard Ashe appeared 
at the second story window. Marshal Doane 
then demanded the immediate surrender of the 
armory. Ashe replied, "I will open the door on 
condition that our safety be guaranteed." "There 
is no condition about it," re})lied Doane ; "open 
the doors or I will bk)w up the l)uilding." Judge 
Terry declared to his friends, "It is I they want; 
I will surrender to them." After parleying for 
some length of time the doors were opened and 
Terry and Maloney were arrested and taken as 
l)risoners to the vigilantes' rooms. 

Terry was held six weeks a jirisoner in "Fort 
(iunny Bags," awaiting Hopkins' recovery or 
death. After his recovery Terry was tried for 
three difi:'erent crimes. The two committees could 
not agree upon a xerdict (i). Terry, therefore, 



(i) The executive coniniittoc tduiKl Terry guilty of 
resistiug an ofticer and an assault on Evans, another 
member. The hoard of delegates believed him guilty 
of the higher assault to kill. They demanded that 
Terry be hanged. Terry at this time was a Mason and 
Rhodes, a Mason, newspaper man, vigilante and inti- 
mate friend of Terry, saved his life. So declared Geo. 
Iv Barnes in the r.ulletin. Iniie 2, 1896. 



EXCITING EVENTS FROM 1850-56 181 

being a Supreme Judge, was discharged. That 
evening he took passage on the steamer Helen 
Hensley for Sacramento. 

In the capital city he was honored by a torch- 
light procession and speeches of congratulation 
by Volney E. Howard, Edward D. Baker and 
Mayor Gregory. The ladies also showed their 
appreciation by presenting him with a handsome 
silver service set (j). From Sacramento he went 
to his home at Stockton. A delegation of citizens 
on horseback and in carriages met him upon the 
road and escorted him into the city. Flags 
floated from a few buildings, the cannon boomed, 
speeches were made, and that night three of the 
principal hotels were illuminated. 



(j) The inscription on the set was as follows: "Hon- 
orable David S. Terry, from the ladies of San Francisco, 
who admire his courage, honor his patriotism, and take 
the highest pride in h'-s heroic resistance to tyranny." 

Soon after the vigilantes arrested Cora and 
Casey, it was reported that the law and order party 
intended to release their friends. The fort was built 
of a poor quality of brick and could easily be destroyed. 
The vigilance committee had no defense except their 
guard, and that night they began strengthening the 
fort. Two hundred of their strongest men were then 
summoned. Going to a sand hill near by, they tilled 
"gunny bags" with sand and these were taken to the 
building in carts and drays. A shot proof barrier five 
feet in height, thirty feet in depth, and two hundred feet 
in length, was then erected. Portholes were left in the 
walls, cannon obtained from ships in the harbor, and 
the artillery was so planted as to command every part 
of the street. This fort was built in a night and it was 
both bullet and cannon ball proof. 



POLITICAL EVENTS— 1854-60 
CHAPTER XIII. 

In California's political history, four times 
only have the two great parties. Democratic and 
Republican, met their Waterloo, defeated by a 
third party. Five times, however, from the same 
cause, the Democrats have been dethroned. 

The first of these defeats took place in 1855, 
the American, or "Know Nothing" party, sweep- 
ing the state. The old Whig party had passed 
from history and the new party was composed 
of Wliigs and Democrats, many of them desert- 
ing the old party to ride into ofhce and power 
in the new hybrid. The Americans held all of 
their meetings in secret. They had secret pass- 
words, signs and grips, and when inquiry was 
made regarding the origin or purposes of the 
])arty, they knew nothing, hence their nickname. 
"Know Nothings." 

Hailing each other as brothers, they assembled 
in convention August 7. 1855. in the Methodist 
Episcopal church at Sacramento. J. A. Benton 
was then i)astor. They adoj^ted a platform at 
that time strange and unusual. They declared 
for the Union and the constitution; they favored 
universal religious toleration, the purity of the 
ballot box, registration laws, and Americans 
only in office; they opposed the union of churcli 
and state and fraud and corruption in high 
l)laces. 

One of the candidates for (Governor was W. W. 
Stow, later one of the high employes of the Cen- 
tral Pacific railroad. The convention's choice 
for Governor was J. Neeley Johnson, he receiv- 
ing the nomination on the fourth ballot. 

The nominee was born in Indiana in August. 
1X25. and l)efore he was twenty-one years of 
age he was admitted to the bar. In 1849 he 
crossed tlio ])lains to California and arrived at 
Sacramento "dead broke." as was the expres- 

182 



POLITICAL EVENTS 183 

sion. He received his first money by hauling 
flour from Sacramento to Stockton for George 
Belt. For his team and four mules he received 
$16 a day. He opened a law office in a tent. 
Sacramento in her first city election, April 1. 
1850, elected him city attornev. 

The election September 5 came as a complete 
surprise to the Democracy. They believed them- 
selves invincible. They would have been vic- 
tors had their adherents stood by the party. 
Many of the Southerners opposed Bigler be- 
cause of his Kansas-Nebraska sentiments. The 
mountain camps also polled a heavy vote for 
Johnson, as they had no love for the foreigner 
(a). Bigler took his defeat good naturedly, be- 
came Minister to Chili under President Bu- 
chanan, returned to California in 1861, estab- 
lished the State Capital Reporter and was its 
editor at the time of his death, November 29, 
1871. The state legislature appropriated $1,000 
for a monument over his grave. The money was 
expended under the direction of Governor New- 
ton Booth. 

The Democrats realized the fact that they had 
to fight no common foe, for the several local 
elections the previous year indicated to some de- 
gree the "Know Nothings'" strength (b). They 
assembled at Sacramento June 27, 1855, and 
about their first business transaction was to ex- 
clude from nomination any candidate who was a 
"Know Nothing" or had any sympathy with 
that party. In their platform they declared that 



(a) As an illustration of the popularity of the 
.American party principles in the mining camps, we 
give the vote of one county, El Dorado: In 1851-53 
that county gave Bigler a majority of 42.151, but in 
1855 they gave Johnson a majority of 4,937; the county 
vote of that year — Johnson 51,157, Bigler 46,220. Note 
the exceedingly large number of voters in a single 
mountain count}-. 

(b) The new party had figured somewhat in 1854 
and in 1855 in Sacramento the entire city "Know Noth- 
ing" ticket was elected. In Marysville March 5, they 
elected their entire ticket, although their nominations 
were not publicly known until the morning of the elec- 
tion. Every town and camp in the state had its Ameri- 
can party organization. 



184 MEN AND EVENTS 

the powers of the government were limited, and 
Congress had no right to interfere with state 
institutions. They asserted that the efforts of 
the abolitionists to interfere with slavery would 
lead to dangerous consequences, and they would 
oppose all Congressional effort to renew the 
slavery question. They believed that sober men, 
and sober men only, should be presented for the 
suffrage of moral and intellectual freemen, and 
they declared that "we will respect the moral 
sentiment of the state in the nominations we are 
about to make." 

It will be observed that the Democratic party 
was on its knees, so to speak, pleading for the 
support of moral men. Heretofore they had dis- 
regarded that class of men, especially the "tem- 
perance cranks," and had ofttimes elected to 
office men unfit for their positions either in mor- 
als or intelligence. The result of this awakening 
we have already noted ; for the legislature of 
that year, timing itself to the moral sentiment 
expressed in the resolution, passed the first mo- 
rality laws, those prohibiting gambling, prosti- 
tution and Sabbath-breaking. 

The shameful proceedings of the Democratic 
convention of 1854 clearly showed the necessity 
of a more dignified body of political leaders; for 
of all conventions that have come down in his- 
tory, it was the worst. Broderick was the 
cause of the fight, and he was making it very 
warm for the Southern, or secession, \ying of the 
Democratic party. 

Neither day nor night did he cease working 
for the ambition of his life, a seat in the United 
States Senate. Flailing to pass the election bill, 
he now planned to elect delegates favorable to 
him for Senator. 

The convention assembled July 18, 1854, in the 
First Baptist church, Sacramento. There were 
two factions claiming seats as delegates, as the 
party had been split asunder two years previous 
over the recognition of Stephen A. Douglas for 
President. The Broderick faction ojiposed Doug- 
las because he was then catering to the slave 
owners. Broderick was then chairman of the 
convention. He planned to have his delegates 



POLITICAL EVENTS 185 

seated in the front rows of the church before the 
arrival of his opponent. His scheme failed, for 
about thirty of his opponents, breaking in the 
church door, marched in. At the same time they 
met the Broderickites entering the back door. 

When the convention was called to order T. L. 
Vermule, a Stockton lawyer, was, according to 
Broderick's program, nominated for temporary 
chairman. Immediately the other side nomi- 
nated ex-Governor John McDougal for chairman. 
Broderick gave no attention to McDougal's 
nomination. He called the vote and declared 
Vermule elected. Then both factions attempted 
to seat their chairman. They crowded around 
the platform, many of them with drawn revolv- 
ers, violently gesticulating and shouting. Finally 
one of the officers was seized. At that moment 
Reuben Maloney, in his excitement, dropped his 
pistol and it exploded. Then there was a rush 
to get out of the overcrowded building as soon 
as possible, and doors and windows were broken. 

As soon as order had been restored eiiforts 
were made to unite the two factions. All efforts 
failed. Throughout the day and until 9 o'clock 
at night the double-headed convention sat, and, 
said the Historian Winfield Davis, "each side 
tried to sit the other out." The trustees of the 
church finally persuaded the delegates to ad- 
journ. They met the next day, the Broderick 
men in Carpenter hall and the Southern men in 
Music hall. Both factions nominated Congress- 
men. The Music hall delegates nominated for 
Congressman, Jas. W. Denver, later the founder 
of Denver, Colorado, and Philip T. Herbert, 
who dishonored the state by killing a Negro in 
Washington. In the state election these two 
men were elected. 

Broderick knew no such word as defeat. 
Foiled in his election bill, outnumbered in his 
convention scheme, his next move was to pre- 
vent or cause to be postponed the election of 
the United States Senator until 1856. He then 
believed that in the American party he could win 
his fight. In the legislature of 185? in joint ses- 
sion the Whigs numbered 43 and the Democrats 
68. The Democrats could not elect their nominee 



186 MKX AXD EVENTS 

unless they voted solidly for one man. The 
Whigs would vote solidly for their nominee, 
hence it was Broderick's move to split the Demo- 
cratic vote. The Democrats met in caucus and 
named Wm. M. (iwin as their nominee for Sena- 
tor. This offended the eleven legislators who 
favored John \V. McCorckle. They left the 
room. In joint session January 17, 1855, the 
legislature began voting for United States Sen- 
ator. Fifty-six ballots were necessary for a 
choice. On the first ballot the vote stood: Wm. 
M. Gwin, 42; Colonel Edwards, the Whig nomi- 
nee, 36; J. W. McCorckle, 13; D. C. Broderick. 
12. Voting every day until January 26th with- 
out making any choice, the Democratic press 
now began to berate Broderick. They asserted 
that he was wasting the people's money, and 
that he, the man of one idea, was leading and 
controlling the faction. After balloting fifty 
times without making any choice, February 26th 
they adjourned sine die. Broderick was on the 
march to victory. He must next unite the party. 

John l>igler sixty years ago sounded the alarm 
against monopolies and exorbitant corporation 
rates. Had the ])eople then honestly and intelli- 
gently acted upon his advice, it would have been 
unnecessary for Hiram Johnson to go automobil- 
ing through the state crying "We'll kick the 
Southern Pacific out of i)olitics." Bigler in a 
special message to the legislature April 8, 1854, 
declared that the legislature under the constitu- 
tion had the right to carefully guard the mani- 
fold public interests, and calling attention to the 
defects of the corporation law, he recommended 
"that they be so restricted * * * as to pro- 
tect the people against unreasonable and exor- 
bitant charges." 

The people at this time were crying out 
against the monopoly of the newly organized 
corporation, the California Steam Navigation 
Company. The merchants of Marysville, Sacra- 
mento and Stockton held indignation meetings 
and bitterly denounced the company. They de- 
clared that the progress of those towns had been 
retarded by the company's exorbitant charges. 
To remedy the imposition, opposition boats were 



I'OLITICAL EVENTS 187 

placed upon the San Joaquin and Sacramento 
rivers. The merchants pledged themselves to 
l)atronize none but the opposition boats (c). 

No legislature took action until 1856. The agi- 
tation against the steamboat company had in- 
creased because of their methods of destroving 
any competition (d), and the legislators be- 
lieved that if they passed a freight and fare bill 
they could lower freights and fares. A bill was 
therefore introduced into the assembly prohib- 
iting the California Steam Navigation Company 
from charging more than three cents a mile for 
])assengers nor more than one and one-half cent 
a hundred for freight. When the bill came up 
for action the newspapers openly published the 
fact that "Mr. Briber is well supplied with rocks 
and he knows where to i\y them." The bill was 
easily voted out of existence and the same paper 
informed the public how easily it was accom- 
plished: "Every approachable man was ap- 
])roached according to his temper and price. If 
brandy cocktails would take him, cocktails he 
had to his heart's content ; if oyster suppers, ci- 
gars and champagne, they took him off in his 
mood; if it took gold to buy him. agents were 
ready to pay it down." History has been repeat- 
ing itself for the past fifty years in the bribing 
of legislators to vote for or against "the passage 
of bills. 

In the mines the people also had their trou- 
bles over the monopoly question. The spirit of 
greed is the one great besetting sin of commerce 
and trade. In 1854 the so-called Tuolumne 



(c) The opposition line reduced the fare to $3.00 for 
cabin passage and $1.00 on deck. The old line had 
l)een charging $5.00 cabin and $2.00 deck, but when they 
reduced their passenger fare to $2.00 cabin and 50 cents 
deck the opposition was compelled to withdraw for 
want of patronage. 

(d) The company's method was to purchase, buy 
off, lease or run off by lower rates any opposition. 
At this time the California Steam Navigation Company 
had over 18 large passenger and freight steamers lying 
idle on the Yolo side of the Sacramento river. 



188 MEN AND EVENTS 

Water Company (e) bep^an charg^ing the miners 
from six dollars to ten dollars a day for the use 
of water in mining. They complained bitterly of 
the extortion. An opposition company was or- 
ganized. In September, 1855, they began their 
work on canals and ditches. The miners re- 
joiced, and they held a celebration over the event. 
They had music, a procession and speeches. One 
orator, James Cofifreth, during his spread-eagle 
speech prophesied that there would be no more 
water monopoly. One year later the Tuolumne 
Water Company bought out the opposition. The 
high rates were again enforced. The vigorous 
protest of the miners was unheeded. Then the}- 
declared war. 

The citizens were assembled in Columbia. 
March 13, 1855, from the surrounding gulches 
and ravines, by the firing of cannon and the 
ringing of bells ; to the number of 3,000 they 
came. Organizing in mass meeting, they de- 
clared that their claims were paying poorly and 
so high were the water rates they could not pay 
their honest debts, the merchants, boarding 
house keepers and others. "Many of us are 
nearly reduced to a starvation point and have 
families at home in an equally reduced condi- 
tion." They declared that they would not pay 
more than four dollars a day for water nor allow 
others to do so if they could prevent them by 
any lawful means. "Resolved, That we place a 
notice on our claims in large letters. '$4.00 for 
Water and No More' as a tombstone denoting 
that our claim is buried for a season." This 
they did three days later. With music, flags and 
banners flying, the miners of Columbia visited 
Shaw's Flat, Yankee Hill and other mining 
camps, firing their six-pound cannon as they ap- 



Ce) To the miner water was of the greatest impor- 
tance, for he must have it for daily use and for the 
washing out of gold. Sometimes it was scarce, often 
far distant, and so it became necessary to build large 
reservoirs and many miles of canals around stee]) 
mountain sides and by pipes across deep chasms. So 
heavy was the expense it caused the formation of small 
companies, they in time being absorbed and bought 
out by the Tuolumne Water Company. 



POLITICAL EVENTS 189 

proached the places, and urged them to resist 
the "monster water monopoly." They were ev- 
erywhere received wdth approving cheers. So 
unanimous was the determfned resistance to pay- 
ing more than $4.00 a day for water, the com- 
])any yielded to their demands. 

The sweep of the "Know Nothing" party so 
astonished both Broderick and Gwin that these 
two chami)ions, who had l^een continuously fight- 
ing each other, concluded to form a partnership. 
Gwin's term in Congress expired March 4, 1853, 
and he desired a re-election. John B. Weller's 
term as Senator expired in 1857 and Broderick 
was seeking his position. Both men knew they 
had no look-in with the new party. Hence they 
became partners to prevent if possible any elec- 
tion of United States Senators that year. In 
joint session the Americans were largely in the 
majority. There was no law, however, compell- 
ing the two bodies to assemble in joint session. 
Neither body could independently elect a Sena- 
tor. The Senate was Broderick and Gwin's field 
of operation. After a ten days' skirmish over the 
Senatorial question, Ben S. Lippincott, a Brod- 
erick adherent, offered a resolution which was 
carried. 19 to 14, that the election of United 
States Senator be postponed until - januarv 18, 
1857. 

The Democracy was jubilant. The assembly, 
however, composed principally of "Know Noth- 
ings," raved and swore. They refused to abide 
l)y the Senate action, and March 6th came near 
reversing the Senate vote. On that day the 
most of the Democratic legislators were attend- 
ing a state convention a few blocks distant from 
the capitol. Their absence gave the "Know 
Nothings" a Senate majority. The question of 
electing a Senator was introduced and Senator 
Oxley proposed a concurrent resolution that 
they meet with the Assembly March 12 to elect 
a United States Senator. Immediately the few 
Democratic Senators present began to talk 
against time. In spite of their efforts the reso- 
lution passed, 48 to 21. As soon as the vote was 
announced Judge Hahn of Nevada county ran 
with all speed to the state convention and ex- 



190 MEN AXD EVEXTS 

claimed, "The Senatorial question is sprung at 
the capitol !" A roll was then being- called upon 
a vote, but waiting not the result, the conven- 
tion hastily adjourned and with a fierce yell, fol- 
lowed by a crowd, the delegates ran to the capi- 
tol. The Senatorial vote was reconsidered and 
again Broderick and Gwin were happy. Brod- 
erick now began to curry favor with the friends 
of Gwin and make future plans for his election. 
The vigilance committee interfered with his ar- 
rangements for several months, causing him to 
leave the state, but he returned in time to seat 
several of his friends in the legislature of 1857. 

The triumph of Broderick and Gwin was a bit- 
ter disappointment to Henry A. Crabb, then 
leader of the Whig party. He had long aspired 
to the ofiice of United States Senator, but his 
opportunity never came, until the "Know Noth- 
ings" carried the election. He was a Mississip- 
l)ian of bright intellect, and so honorable in char- 
acter that even his opponents acknowledged it. 
"Gentle as a woman," said James O'Meara, "yet 
lacking in her qualities of persistency to win or 
die, Crabb retired from the Senate a heart-broken 
man." 

The fates gave to him a tragic death. Crabb 
in 1853, then but 26 years of age, married a 
Stockton senorita named Filomela Ainsa. Her 
father, a .Spaniard, belonged to one of the 
wealthy and influential families of Mexico, and 
claimed a close relationshij) to Captain Ainsa, 
the leader of the first land expedition to San 
Francisci). 

The rexolution in Mexico in 1857 involved 
Ignacio Pesquerira and Ciovernor (landara. The 
former, raising an army, drove the Governor 
Ironi power. Ainsa at this time was an officer 
in the re\-olutionary army, and he wrote to his 
son-in-law, Crabb, to raise a filibustering army 
and join the revolutionists. Yielding to the 
pleadings of his beautiful wife, Crabb raised an 
army of 200 men. They sailed to Mexico, ex- 
pecting tt) meet him at Liberdad. Crabb, lead- 
ing a second c(jmpany of 100 men. marched over- 
land by the way of Los Angeles and Fort Yuma. 



POLITICAL EVENTS 191 

In the meantime the Mexicans had settled 
their quarrel. Crabb, not knowing of their 
agreement, pushed on to Cavorca. He was there 
attacked by the Mexicans, but repulsed the en- 
emy with a loss of twelve men. He then entered 
the town and took possession of several dwellings 
opposite the church. He expected that the com- 
pany of 200 filibusters would there meet him. 
The government had stopped the sailing of the 
vessel. Crabb and his men were trapped. 

For eight days he and his men, fighting 
against an army of 700 Mexicans, made one of 
the most heroic battles of history. During this 
struggle twenty-five men were killed. The Mexi- 
cans then set fire to the buildings which had 
been their fort. Compelled to surrender, the 
sixty-four living then marched out bearing a 
white flag. They expected fair treatment as pris- 
oners of war. Now was shown the cruelty of a 
Mexican's revenge. Their arms were pinioned 
behind them, and taken to a corral, they were 
there confined without either food or water until 
the next morning. Then in squads of five they 
were taken out and shot. Crabb was reserved 
for a more cruel death. He was permitted to 
write to his wife; then, led to a post, his hands 
were tied above his head, and in this position 
his body was filled with a score of bullets. His 
head, cut from his body, was then placed upon 
a table, and the i)opulace jeered and scoffed as 
they passed by. It Avas then preserved in a jar 
of mescal. This ended the history of the filibus- 
tering expeditions. 

The "Know Nothing" party died, but one year 
old. In its place arose the Republican party, 
'i'he first assembly of the new party took place 
at Sacramento, April 19, 1856. When the speaker, 
(leorge C. Bates, attempted to address the small 
audience present, the rowdy element rushing for- 
ward overturned the stand. The meeting then 
adjourned. A public discussion was advertised 
in the capital city. May 10, between George C. 
Bates, Republican, and J. C. Zabriskie, Demo- 
crat. Rotten eggs flew fast at the Republican 
speaker. As this had been anticipated, the po- 
lice were present to restore order. The first Re- 



192 MEN AND EVENTS 

publican state convention assembled in Sacra- 
mento April 20, 1856. So insignificant was the 
party that only thirteen counties sent delegates. 
One-half of the number came from San Fran- 
cisco and Sacramento. They elected delegates 
to the national convention, which met at Balti- 
more June 17, and they refused to indorse John 
C. Fremont for President. 

The defeat of John C. Fremont in no manner 
discouraged the California party. Assembling 
in state convention in July, 1857, they nominated 
for ( Governor a North Carolina Whig. He vv^as 
about the poorest candidate they could have 
named, although he was an old politician. They 
had much stronger men in the body of the ticket, 
among them Leland Stanford for treasurer and 
A. A. Sargent for attorney general. Their plat- 
form indorsed the national platform of 1856, de- 
clared slavery within the control of Congress, 
asserted that "the Dred Scott decision merited 
the reprobation of every freeman," favored the 
speedy construction of the overland railroad and 
a subsidy for it, approved of the speedy settle- 
ment of land titles, and welcoming the honest, 
industrious immigrants from Europe, denounced 
all attempts to persecute them because of foreign 
birth. 

The Democrats also met in July. They named 
John B. Weller for (jovernor. B'or Supreme 
Court Judge they nominated Stephen J. Field. 
Indorsing the Cincinnati platform, they advo- 
cated the building of wagxMi and state roads, 
favored giving every settler a home, and consid- 
ered the state debt an obligation that should be 
})aid. So heavy was the state debt, the legisla- 
ture considered re])udialion the best way to pay 
it, and left the question to the people. They 
Noted by a big majority to pay the debt. The 
Democrats swept the state and John B. Weller. 
57,661, received more votes than Stanley and 
Ceo. VV. Bowie ("Know Nothing") combined. 

The Governor-elect, John B. Weller, was a 
man of high character and a clean political rec- 
ord. Born in Ohio, February 22, 1812, of Ger- 
man parentage, he recei\ed a splendid education 
and then studied law under Jesse Corwin, the 



POLITICAL EVENTS 193 

famous Whig lawyer. He was twice elected to 
the House of Representatives. In 1848 he was 
defeated for Governor because 400 electors voted 
for John Weller. not John B. Weller. In 1849 
he w'as selected by the government to run the 
boundary line between California and Mexico. 
Reaching San Diego in June, 1849, by way of 
New Orleans, he began the survey. He was 
later received by Mayor Emory of the topo- 
graphical engineers. Weller then located in 
California, became United States Senator, then 
Governor, and retiring to private life, died 
August 17, 1875, in New Orleans. 

\Vhen the Democratic legislature assembled 
in Sacramento, January 5, 1857, there were 
twelve candidates in the field for United States 
Senator. Among the number stood John B. 
Weller, for re-election; Milton S. Latham, elect- 
ed Senator in 1859; Stephen J. Field, later of the 
Supreme Court ; A. P. Crittenden, killed by 
Laura Fair ; John W. Denver, Henry A. Crabb. 
Wm. M. Gwin (for re-election), Aaron A. Sar- 
gent, later Congressman, and David C. Brod- 
erick. The political complexion of the legisla- 
ture stood : Senate — Democrats 19, Americans 
11, Republicans 3; Assembly — Democrats 61. 
.\mericans 8. Republicans 11. A. A. Sargent, 
the only Republican in the bunch, expected the 
vote of the Republicans and the Americans. Not 
one of them had a ghost of a chance, however, 
save Broderick and Gwin. They had the elec- 
tion in their pocket, so to speak, for the two men, 
deadly enemies two years before, had formed a 
partnership and united their supporters. 

It was agreed between them that Broderick 
was to have the long term Senatorship, six years, 
and Gwin the shorter term, four years. Brod- 
erick wanted two votes to make his election se- 
cure. Meeting two of Latham's friends, Brod- 
erick said : "If you will give me your support 
for Senator for the long term, I will give Latham 
my support for the short term and defeat Gwin." 
Latham's friends accepted the dishonorable 
proposition. Broderick had no intention what- 
ever of fulfilling it. 

The legislature met in joint session Januar)' 



194 >rEX AXD KVRXTS 

10th. After voting down a motion to elect l)()th 
Senators at once, they began balloting for Sen- 
ator for the long term. Broderick npon his tirst 
ballot, 79 votes, was declared elected. Two 
days later Gwin was elected. To Broderick "it 
was his hour of glory, the presage of his doom." 

The newly elected Senators sailed for Wash- 
ington a short time after their election. Both 
men wished to see President Buchanan inaugur- 
ated. On arrival both men began scheming for 
])olitical influence and official positions for Cali- 
fornia friends. Gwin was among his friends, for 
Congress was then strongly in sympathy with 
the South. Broderick received scarcely recogni- 
tion, for his views regarding slavery met the dis- 
appr(jval of Southern senators. This, for Cali- 
fornia, was unfortunate. Gwin, receiving most 
of the state api)ointments. filled the custom house, 
])ostoffice and other federal positions with men 
who favored slavery and state rights. 

The legislature of 1857, faN'oring the Kansas- 
Xebraska bill, which favored sla\ery, instructed 
its United States Senators to vote for it. Nat- 
urally Gwin gave the measure liis \ote. Brod- 
erick, lining up with Stephen .\. Douglas, not 
only \()ted against the bill, but defied the party. 
In liis Congressional speech he declared that the 
a(hiiinistration's policy towards the territories 
was due "to the failing intellect, the petulant 
passion and the trembling dotage of an old man, 
just on the verge of the grave." This speech 
against President Buchanan so aroused the in- 
dignation of the legislature that it called on 
I'roderick to resign "from the high t)ffice he S(.> 
unworthily fills, as he no longer represents the 
state" (f). Again in 1859 the legislature de- 
manded his resignation, (jiving no attention to 
the demand, however, Broderick remained 



(f) So indignant wen- sonu- of the r;il)i(l Demo- 
crats that language was scarcely >trong enough to ex- 
I)ress their feelings. The Del Norte county conven- 
tion, June 23, 1858, resolved that Broderick "by his 
votes, by his treachery to the party which elected him 
*' * * and by his league with the Republicans * * * 
should only receive at our hands the scorn and con- 
tempt which he so justly merits." Even tlie press, 



POLITICAT. EVENTS 195 

throughout the session. He returned to Califor- 
nia in time to take a very active part in the state 
election. 

In the campaign of 1859 the Democratic party 
was hopelessly split asunder. It had divided 
over the question of shnery or no slavery in 
Kansas. The Lecompton party, led by Gwin and 
Terry, declared that Kansas must accept the 
slavery constitvition provided by President Bu- 
chanan or none at all. The anti-Lecomptonites, 
led by Broderick and John C. McKibben, es- 
poused the Douglas doctrine, that the territory 
had -the right to accept or reject slavery. The 
Lecompton convention, assembling in the Con- 
gregational church, Sacramento, June 22, nomi- 
nated Milton S. Latham for (lovernor and John 
Downey for Lieutenant (ioxernor. Latham was 
a Northern-born Democrat and in his speech ac- 
cepting the nomination, he mystified his friends 
by declaring he "indorsed the Democratic princi- 
ples, and above all things 1 stand by the Union." 
The anti-Lecomjitons, meeting in the same place 
June 15, nominated John Curry for Governor. 
He, a Republican, nominated by a Democratic 
convention. The Republicans also assembled in 
the Congregational church at Sacramento June 
8. They nominated Leland Stanford for Gov- 
ernor. The party opi)osed slavery. Being the 
weakest party, however, Horace Greeley, who 
had arrived in California in July, wrote a letter 
to that party advising them to unite with the 
anti-Lecomptonites. In case they united it was 
presumed that Stanford would withdraw. He 
refused to withdraw, and he declared that his 
party would maintain an unbroken front. Frank 
Pixley, denouncing l)oth Gwin and Broderick. 



tlie Sacramento Mercury, roasted the Senator: "Let 
tlie Broderick and Stanley men go over to the Re- 
publicans, where they properly belong: let us wipe out 
this incubus that has been festering and eating out the 
very life of our party * * * since its first organiza- 
tion." 

The state Republican convention, meeting August 5, 
resolved that Broderick's conduct is worthy of appro- 
val "and evinces a regard for the interest of free labor 
and free men equally becoming the state which he rep- 
resents and the station he occupies." 



196 MKX AND EVENTS 

urged the Republicans to stand together. H. H. 
Haight, then chairman of the anti-Lecompton 
state central committee, said no coalition would 
ever take place. 

The campaign as it progressed was one of the 
most bitter and personal of any in California 
history. Curry challenged Latham, and togeth- 
er they stumped the state. The greater interest 
centered in the speeches of Gwin, Terry and 
Broderick. It was the first time that Broderick 
ever made a state campaign. In their speeches 
the three men were very abusive and personal, 
and they gave out much of the political tricks 
and schemes of past years. The vote given La- 
tham on election day (62255) exceeded the com- 
bined vote of Curry (20.847) and Stanford (10,- 
110). Stanford's vote was less than that oi 
Stanley in 1857. It was a comj)lete political sur- 
prise. The politicians inquired, "Where do we 
stand?" 

The reign of the Lecompton part}- was of 
short duration, its future defeat being due in 
l^art to the tragic death of Broderick. 

In the Lecompton coiuention David S. Terry 
sought the renomination for Supreme justice. 
The nomination was gi\en to C. C. Cope. In his 
speech (h) Terry took occasion to abuse his for- 
mer friends, those of the anti-Lecompton party. 
Broderick resented the insult. A few days later. 
June 26, Broderick met 1). W. Perlev, a friend of 
Terry. During the con\ersation Broderick 
called Terry "a miserable wretch." "1 have hith- 
erto spoken of him * * * ^^^ ^\^^^> only honest 
man on the bench of a miserable, corrupt Su- 
preme Court. * * * lie is just as bad as the 
others," said Broderick. I'erley, Cjuite indignant 
because of this assertion against his friend Terry, 
challenged I'roderick. Broderick refused to ac- 
cept it, saying in his letter of refusal: "When 



(h) Terry asserted: "Who liave we opposed to us? 
* * * A miserable remnant of a faction, sailing under 
false colors, trying to obtain votes under false jire- 
tenses. * * ♦ They belong heart and soul, body 
and i)reeches, to David C. Broderick. They are 
asiianied to acknowledge their master and are calling 
tliemsclvcs, forsooth, I)ou.i,'Ias Democrats." 



POLITICAL EVENTS 197 

I entered this campaign it was suggested to me 
that efforts would be made to force me into diffi- 
culties, and I determined to take no notice of 
attacks from any source during the canvass." 

The day following the election, September 7, 
Terr}-, losing no time, sent Broderick a chal- 
lenge. He accepted. Some of Broderick's friends 
tried to persuade him to refuse to fight. They 
declared that he had been engaged in a long and 
tedious campaign and was in no condition to 
stand before the cool, calculating Southerner. 
Other friends, knowing Broderick to be a dead 
shot and a l)rave man, urged him on to his death. 
T'hey argued, "the fight has got to come some 
time ; it might as well come now." 

It was to l)e a duel royal between two ofii- 
cial giants, fin ex-Justice of the Supreme Court 
and a United States Senator. Everything was 
arranged for the duel. They met, principals, sec- 
onds and al)out sixty persons, at sunrise, Septem- 
ber 12, near Lake Merced, San Mateo county. 
Chief of Police Thomas Burke of San P'rancisco 
ap})eared and stopped the duel. 

That night, secretly, arrangements were 
again made, and the following morning about 
the same time principals and seconds met about 
two and c^ne-half miles southeast of the lake. As 
the duelists took their places, about ten paces 
apart, "Broderick appeared nervous," says James 
O'Meara, "and, straining his nerves to the ut- 
most tension, stood stiff' and unnatural. His 
opponent, cool and calculating, stood erect and 
firm and in an easy position awaited the com- 
mand to fire." 

According to the arrangements the second cho- 
sen was to repeat the words "Fire — One, two." 
Xeither duelist was to raise his pistol before the 
word "Fire" nor discharge it after the word 
"two" had been spoken. Near the hour of se\en 
David Colton, Broderick's seccMid, exclaimed : 
"Gentlemen, are you ready?" Both men replied 
"Ready." Colton then spoke the fatal words. 
"Fire- — One. two." With the word "One" Brod- 
erick's pistol was discharged. The ball struck 
the earth about nine feet in front of Terry. Just 
before "Two" was s])oken Terry fired. His ball 




Political Event 1854 to 1860. David C. Broderick, 
David S. Terry and Wm. M. Gwin. 



POLITICAL EVENTS 199 

penetrated Broderick's rii^ht l)reast. piercing the 
lung. Broderick slowly dropped to the earth. 
Terry, addressing his second, said: "The sh(.)t 
is not mortal ; I have struck two inches to the 
right." 

Broderick was taken to the home of Leonidas 
Haskell, then lixing on Black Point, which is 
now the United States Presidio. He lingered 
l)etween life and death until September 17th. 
He then died from internal hemorrhage. The 
body was then taken to the Union Hotel, on 
Kearny street, near the plaza, Broderick's head- 
quarters. It there lay in state until Sunday, Sep- 
tember 18th, and was visited by thousands of 
citizens. 

The funeral service was held on the* plaza, 
Portsmouth square. The speaker, Edward 1). 
Baker, a warm friend of Broderick's, pronounced 
the funeral oration, today one of the classics in 
California literature. Every society and every 
official in San Francisco attended the funeral. 
The fire department was out in full numbers, led 
by David Scannell. Broderick was then foreman 
of Empire No. 1. The body was buried in Lone 
Mountain cemetery, on top of the highest hill. 
The citizens erected a plain marble shaft, and 
Governor Leland Stanford laid the cornerstone. 

Dueling was an unlawful act, and the farce of 
trying Terry for murder was played. He was ar- 
rested and placed under $10,000 bonds and held 
to answer before Judge M. C. Blake of San 
Francisco. Terry's friends wanted the trial held 
in another county. The case went to the Su- 
preme Court, Stephen J. Field, Chief Justice, and 
Joseph G. Baldwin and W. W. Cope,- associates. 
They decided that a duel was not murder, and 
the case could be tried in any county. The case 
finally reached Marin county, San Rafael. The 
judge of that county went on a vacation and 
Judge J. H. Hardy of Mokelumne Hill, a close 
friend of Terry, was chosen to preside. The 
trial was set for July 6. 1860. The witnesses 
were called to appear at ten o'clock that day. As 
the time drew near, some honest yeoman set the 
court clock ahead one hour. At nine o'clock, true 
time, ten o'clock, court room time, the innocent 



200 Mi:x Axn i-:vexts 

judge called the CDurt to (U-dcr. The judge, offi- 
eers of the court and jury were all present. The 
judge asked the prosecuting attorney if he was 
ready for trial. He replied, "Ready." The names 
i)f the prosecuting witnesses were then called. 
Xiiiie answered. They were then in a sailboat 
on San Francisco bay bound for San Rafael. 
Joseph P. Hoge, counsel for Terry, then de- 
manded that the case be given to the jury. The 
judge read his charge, instructed them to bring 
in a verdict ac(|uitting the prisoner. Without 
leaving their seats the jury gave in its verdict, 
"Not guilty." Terry walked from the courtroom 
a free man in the eyes of the law. Not so with 
the general public, however. They branded him 
as a murderer. Wherever he went he was ])oint- 
ed out to strangers as the man who killed Brod- 
erick. He outlived every man present at the 
duel save one spectator, and yet he was shot down 
and killed (August, 1889) by the bodyguard of 
Chief Justice Stephen J. Field. 



PULPIT, PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL. 

IIIAPTRR XI\'. 

Religion is the ft)unclati(jn of civilization, anil 
far in advance of civilization we find the banner 
bearers of the cross. They were with Balboa 
(1519) when he first saw the Pacific, and with 
Cortez, \'iscaino, Cabrillo and Ferrello when 
first they saw the land, bays and islands of the 
far west. The Jesuits settled Lower California, 
the Franciscans built up .\lta California, and in 
the rush of '49 there came ministers of (iod to 
found churches, schools and societies in every 
town and mountain camp. 

To the Episcopal denomination belongs the 
honor of the first Protestant representative upon 
the coast, Chaplain Fletcher of the Sir Francis 
Drake expedition holding service in 1579. Again 
the Episcopalians led in 1847. In that year 
(April 12th) the ship IW-utus arrived at San Fran- 
cisco. Her chaplain, Re\-. Thomas M. Leven- 
worth, had a two-fold position. He was the 
acting surgeon and ordained rector, he ha\ing 
letters from the Bishop of New York to found 
an Episcopal church in California. His sermon 
in Yerba Buena on May 12, 1847, was the first 
I'rotestant sermon preached on the coast. Dr. 
Levenworth built a frame house of worship. No 
parish was organized until the arrival of F. S. 
Mines, July 8? 1849. Then July 22nd, Trinity 
church was organized and October 8th the rector 
preached his first sermon. In 1852 the rector 
died. His body now lies in a vault of the present 
place of worship. 

In 1853 Leonidas Kip, a rector of New York, 
then forty-two years of age, was consecrated as 
Bishop of California. In December of that year 
he arrived and for nearly forty years he filled the 
position. Old in years and nearly blind, he was 
succeeded by Bishop Nichols, and died in April, 
1893. The first Episcopal church was in a sheet 
iron building on J^nc, between Montgomery and 

201 




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u T3 



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Q, Jm 

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PULPIT, PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 203 

Kearny, now California Market. Purchasing a 
lot at the corner of Powell and Post streets for 
$30,000, they erected a handsome l)rick church, 
which was dedicated in Sei)tember, 1867. The 
lot was sold for $243,850 in 1890 and Trinity was 
removed to Bush and Gough streets and the 
handsome stone edifice, costing $90,000, was dedi- 
cated in September, 1891. It was outside of the 
great fire zone. There is now in process of build- 
ing at the corner of California and Jones streets 
the magnificent Grace cathedral. It will be com- 
l)lete in 1920. It stands on the mansion location 
sites of Charles and William Crocker, the lots 
being a gift from the heirs after the fire that 
swept away the mansions. 

The first Protestant missionary was Walter 
Colton, a Presbyterian minister. He preached no 
sermon so far as known nor organized no church. 
The Rev. John C. Damon, seaman's chaplain at 
Honolulu, arrived and visited San Francisco in 
July, 1848, and held services. Then sailing to 
"Stockton, July 12th, he delivered a sermon on 
board the vessel. In November, 1848, the Ameri- 
can Board of Missions sent several young theo- 
logical students to California, among them the 
Congregationalist, Samuel H. Willy, and the 
Presbyterians, Syhester Woodbridge. Thomas 
Douglas, Albert Williams and James Woods, 
and the Baptists sent O. C. Wheeler. 

The Rev. Woodbridge going to Benicia, April 
18, 1849, founded the first church society. The 
first San Francisco church was organized May 
20, 1849. Its first pastor was Albert Williams. 
The second church in the order of time was the 
First Baptist. It was organized July 6th by O. C. 
Wheeler. In August they built "a meeting 
house" and October 21st the first baptism took 
place at North Beach. 

Early in the summer of 1849 St. Bl-ancis church 
on Vallejo street was founded by two Jesuit 
priests from Oregon. Two years later St. Pat- 
rick's church was founded by Archbishop Ale- 
many, he succeeding Archbishop Gonzales. 
Father Joseph S. Alemany, living in Rome, was 
consecrated Archbishop of California in 1850, he 
being thirty-six years of age. He labored faith- 



204 MEX AND EVENTS 

fully in the work until se\cnty-one years old. 
Then returning" to Spain, his birthplace, Patrick 
W. Riordan assumed the duties of the office. 

.Vrchhishoj) Riordan died in San Francisco 
December 27, 1914. aged 74 years. During- his 
thirty years in California he performed a valua- 
ble work, not alone for the church, but for the 
state. 

The little \\-oo(len church, St. h'rancis, was called 
tlic cathedral until 1854. At that time St. Mary's 
cluu-ch, corner of (irant a\enue and California 
street, was erected. The .Archbishop then 
changed his residence tt) "()ld St. Mary's," as it 
is now called. It was destroyed in the fire. The 
walls stood intact, howe\er, and the building 
was rebuilt for worshi)). The corner stone of St. 
Mary's catliedral, corner of \'an Ness and O'Far- 
rell streets, was laid in 1887. The building was 
completed January 11, 1891, at a cost of nearly 
$2,000,000. " 

The na\al chaplain, Timothy Dwight Hunt, a 
Congregationalist, reached San Francisco from 
lb)nolulu in November. 1848. He was appointed 
town chaplain and until July 29, 1849, he held 
services in the little scheiol house on Portsmouth 
square. No Congregational society was organ- 
ized until September. 1849. In February. 1850. 
the denomination erected a house of worship. 

The Methodists claim that they are the oldest 
Protestant denomination in California because of 
the fact that the Rev. Roberts in 1846. then on 
his way to ( )regon. organized a "Methodist class" 
in San Francisco. He was followed in 1847 by 
that masterful ])reacher. heather William Taylor. 
1 le held services in a tent and preached to crowds 
of i)eople on the street corners. Not until ( )cto- 
ber 7. 1849. was the first Methodist church built. 
It was a little wodd ])nilding ;d)out 25 .\ 40 feet 
in size. 

The lirst Unitarian church society was organ- 
ized C)ctt)ber 20. 1850. in a hall on Commercial 
street. Their first church was dedicated |ul\ 
10. 185;^ by the Rev. Cdiarles A. Farley. "The 
building was on Stockton, between Clay and Sac- 
ramento. The Rev. Thomas Starr King, a \er}- 
clof|uent preacher and lecturer, accepted a call 



PULPIT, PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 2u5 

to this church in April, 1860. Two years later 
they erected for him a costly stone building on 
Geary street, between Stockton and Grant. Starr 
King died March 4, 1864, after his valuable serv- 
ices for the union. His remains were buried in 
the front of the church. He was succeeded in 
September, 1864, by the Rev. Horatio Stebbins, 
another scholarly pastor, who at once took high 
rank in the scholastic circles of the state. In 
1887 the building was removed stone by stone 
and it became a part of a larger and handsomer 
edifice on Geary and Franklin streets. There 
now rest the bodies of Thomas Starr King and 
Horatio Stebbins. 

The Rev. J. C. Simmons, a pioneer pastor of 
the Methodist Episcopal church (South) denomi- 
nation, said, "Church services were held under 
trees, in miners' cabins, bar-rooms, ten-pin al- 
leys, and gambling houses, and many times he 
preached while standing behind a bar-room 
counter, with bottles and barrels, bowie knives 
and pistols around him." 

The first San Jose Congregational service was 
in a carpenter shop, rough seats being made of 
boards. Rev. Woods preached in Sonora in a 
hall. The room below was filled with gamblers 
engaged in card playing, drinking and smoking. 
Preaching in Stockton in a temperance store, a 
blacksmith was shoeing a horse in the back part 
of the store during service. The following- 
Sunday he hired a less noisy place. After the 
sermon he learned that his congregation had been 
sitting on barrels filled with whisky. 

Father Arden built St. Bridget's church, San 
Francisco. Eli Corwin, a carpenter and preacher, 
assisted in the erectit)n of the First Methodist 
church, San Jose. William Taylor, first preach- 
ing in a tent, later went into the forest and, cut- 
ting his own timber, built a church. The first 
l)uilding in California erected for church services 
only was built at Stockton. The Rev. James 
Woods, obtaining a lot, obtained a bag of gold 
bv subscription and erected a building at a cost 
of $4,000. The head carpenter, John M. Buffing- 
ton, received $16.00 a day. Four years later he 



206 MEX AXD I-. VENTS 

was mayor of the town. 1Mie building was com- 
pleted in ten weeks and dedicated March 5, 1850. 
One of the choir singers in this church, Maggie 
Kroh, later Mrs. Blake Alverson. became the 
leading contralto of the coast. 

The Rex. Woodbridge slept in a sailor's ham- 
mock in the school room, taught school six days 
in the week and preached on Sunday. Mr. Sim- 
mond was first sent to Grass Valley and says he 
slept on "Irish feathers" mowed from the field 
with a scythe, "with jmIIows of the same luxuri- 
ous material." He was prepared for this, as the 
Bishop said to him before leaN'ing New' York, "If 
you cannot sleep on bear skins and eat bear's 
meat, you are not fit f<ir a missionary." Rev. 
Anthony, Methodist, going to \'allejo in 1854 
found that the former pastor had been sleeping 
in a hole cut in the pulpit floor. John B. Hill, 
Methodist, arriving in California in 1852, was 
given a charge at Weaver\-ille, Trinity county. 
From Sacramento he was compelled to walk tiie 
entire distance. The I\e\-. \V. Ci. Canders, a 
bachelor, taught school h\e days in the week, 
delivered sermons twice each Sunda}-, and lodged 
and cooked his own meals in the back part of 
the churclT. llie Rev. James Woods was more 
fortunate. He was married; his wife was sickly, 
however, and often he cooked the food, washed 
the dishes, nursed his wife, preached twice each 
Sunday, taught school, visited the sick, buried 
the dead, and married those fortunate enough to 
And single maids. Many of these pastors were 
men rough in manners, ungrammatical in speech, 
and very severe in their condemnation of the 
sinner. They wx're, however, honest, enthusias- 
tic, and energetic in their work and accomplished 
much in the building up of California's moral and 
spiritual life. 

Closely connected with religion is the history 
of schools, for the first pastors and their wives 
were the pioneers in school w«jrk. The first 
teacher, however, was Mrs. Olive Mann Isabell. 
A teacher before marriage, she came with her 
luisband to California in 1846 and located at 
Santa Clara. In December of that year she 
<»l)ened a free school for the children of the 



PULPIT, PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 207 

pueblo. They liad no i)encils, slates, paper or 
blackboard, and only a few books. In A])ril. 
1847, the family journeyed to Monterey. That 
night the trustees of the town engaged her to 
open a public school. She was to receive $6.00 
per pupil for a term of three months. The cus- 
tom house was fitted up, and before the close of 
the term Mrs. Isabell had fifty-two pu])ils. In 
1848 O. C. Wheeler arrived on the Oregon and 
taught school for a few months in Colton hall. 

The Rev. Thomas Douglas, who was a grad- 
uate of Yale college, taught the first public school 
in San Francisco. The school trustees l)uilt a 
little house on Portsmouth square. The teacher 
received a salary of $1,000 a year. The school 
opened April 3. 1848, witii thirty pupils. Mr. 
Douglas taught school six weeks only. Then the 
cry of gold scattered his flock. During the ex- 
citement John C. Pelton. a Baptist layman, and 
his wife arrived in San Francisco. The Baptists 
gave him the use of the church for a school room. 
He opened his school Decemlier 26, 1848, with 
three pupils. In a short time, assisted by his 
wife, he taught one hundred and fifty children. 
The only money they received was voluntary sub- 
scriptions and from the sale of school books, they 
having brought a suppl}' from the eastern states. 
In June, 1850, Thomas J. Nevin, a philanthropist, 
opened two public schools and employed teachers. 
In 1851 he was selected school superintendent. 
There were then seven schools organized. 

The Legislature in 1852 passed its first state 
school law. It provided a state school fund, but 
every town was obliged to maintain a public 
school three months before it could receive any 
state money. Stockton at once took advantage 
of this law and February 23, 1853, opened her 
public schools. The l)oys and girls were each 
separatelv taught. To establish the first school 
fund eac'h councilman gave $50.00. and $500.00 
was collected by subscription. San Jose opened 
her public schools in March, 1853. Sacramento 
had a school fund of $1,000.00 in that year, Init 
her public schools were not established until 1854. 

The previous year there came to California a 
young teacher named John Sweet, who is now 



208 MEN AXD EVENTS 

hailed as the "Father of the Public Schools." 
First he tried mining on the Feather river. Late 
in the fall of 1853 he drifted back to San Fran- 
cisco. He took charge of Rincon Hill school and 
there acted as teacher and principal until 1862. 
In that year he was elected Superintendent of 
Instruction and held the office until 1867. Dur- 
ing that time he did splendid work and laid the 
foundation of our present public school system. 
He drew up laws and succeeded in caui-ing the 
Legislature to pass them, appropriated money 
for a better condition of school buildings, an 
extended school term, higher standard of teach- 
ers, better salary, and other laws improving and 
elevating the school system. Free school books 
are now provided to all public school children. 

The State Normal School was founded in San 
Francisco in 1862. It was removed to San Jose 
in 1871. Charles H. .\llen was the principal for 
fifteen years. The Los Angeles Normal was 
established in 1881 and the Chico Normal in 1887. 

In 1853 Henry Durant, a Congregational minis- 
ter, opened a school of three pupils in a store in 
Oakland. The school was a success. Mr. Durant 
then, concluding to found a college, purchased a 
block of land for that purjiose. A party of squat- 
ters tried to dri\e him off the property, but 
the ])ravery of this minister and several friends, 
armed with Colt's revolvers, won the victory. 
In that \ ear. 1855. the College of California was 
founded. In 1867 Mr. Durant deeded the college 
to the state and the Legislature appropriating 
SvSOO.OOO. the state university was established. 
Henry Durant being its first president. In 1870 
the university was remo\-ed from Oakland and 
the new site was named I'erkcley. 

The Leland Stanford, jr.. university at Palo 
Alto, south of San Francisco, is a university mag- 
nificent in all its parts, buildings, courses and 
objects. A friendly rival to the state university, 
it was founded under peculiar circumstances. 
Leland Stanford and wife, accompanied by their 
only child, a boy sixteen years old, were traxeling 
in Italy for the benefit of the boy's education. 
While in Florence, 1884, the son caught the 
typhoid fever and died. The parents worshipped 



PULPIT. PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 209 

the boy and now that he was dead they had no 
object in life. Wealth to them now had no value : 
it was as dross. While sitting at tiie bedside of 
the boy, the father, worn out by constant watch- 
ing, fell asleep and dreamed. The dream took 
the thought of his conscious mind, that if the 
boy died he "had nothing to live for." The boy 
replied, "Li\e for humanity, father." Whether 
or not the story of the dream be true, the father 
put the thought into results, "live for humanity." 
As the son loved learning for itself alone, he 
resolved to found a Leland Stanford, Jr., univer- 
sity, where all alike, rich and poor, male or 
female, might acquire an education that would 
fit them for any station in life. The university 
liuildings were erected at Palo Alto of Moorish 
design, in marble and sandstone. The buildings 
cost over $3,000,000 and were badly damaged by 
the great earthquake. The magnificent chapel 
was completely destroyed. The best professors 
in the United States were selectd as instructors, 
with Dr. David Starr Jordan as president. To 
support the institution, Stanford deeded to the 
imiversity all of his lands, of the estimated value 
of $20,000,000. The university was opened in the 
fall of 1891. Leland Stanford died at Palo Alto, 
June 21, 1893, and father, sOn and wife now rest 
in a handsome marl)le mausoleum in the Arbo- 
retum. A marble statue memorial stands in the 
center of the quadrangle of buildings. Mrs. 
Stanford died in Honolulu in 1905 and willed her 
entire property to the university. 

California in its newspaper and magazine cir- 
culation leads the world. There are today pub- 
lished, monthly, 907 periodicals ; this includes 
167 daily and 557 w^eekly newspapers. The 
twenty-four hour circulation of the twelve lead- 
ing daily newspapers is 635,853 copies, over 
19,000,000 copies per month. As the voting popu- 
lation, men and women, over twenty-one years of 
age "as registered," is 1,944,000, and the entire 
population is 2,379,549, it may be readily seen 
that Californians are a reading people. 

These silent moulders of public opinion had 
their origin in the little two-column sheet, the 
Californian, first pu]:>lished at Monterey August 



210 MEN AND KVI':XTS 

15, 1846. The entire plant was purchased from 
the Mexican g()\ernment by Commc)(k~)re Stock- 
ton for the purpose of ])ul)lishing c^overnment 
orders and news. Walter Colton, chaplain of 
the Portsmouth, was editor and two sokliers of 
Stevenson's regiment, John R. (iould and B. P. 
Kooser, did duty as compositors, ])ressmen. fore- 
men, devil and bookkeeper. A cr^wd anxiously 
awaited the first issue. So numerous was the 
Spanisli ])opulation that se\eral columns of each 
issue were printed in Spanish. Mr. Kooser, who 
was a good Spanish scholar, acted as editor. 
Colton sold his interest to Robert Semple. his 
partner, in 1847. The paper was then removed 
to Yerba Buena and reappeared May 22nd. 

Semple in remoxing to the pueblo found a 
strong rival in Samuel Brannan's paper, the Star. 
It was brought from New York, as we have 
recf)rded, and January 17, 1847, the tirst copy was 
issued. Its size, 12 x 15 inches, was a little larger 
than the Californian. At that time there were 
only six printers in the territory. (Jn arrival of 
Stevenson's regiment, Brannan, hastening to the 
beach, found thirteen printers. They were imme- 
diately set to work and Urannan printed a small 
special edition of 2,000 copies of the Star. 'I'lie}- 
were printed for circulation in the eastern states 
and gave a grapiiic account of the "\ast resources 
of California." April 1, 1S48. tlie tirst California 
expressman started oxerland on horseliack. carry- 
ing the Star and letters, lie expected to reach 
Independence, Missouri, in sixty da}s. 

In September, 1848, tlie Californian and the 
Star were purchased by 1^. C. i\.emble and Ed- 
ward (lill)ert. 'I4ie two ])apers were consoHdated 
and January 1. 1849, the .Alta Cahfornia ap- 
peared (a). It was the tirst daily paper and was 
Whig in politics, changing in 1856 to Republican. 
It passed through \arious hands until 188.x At 



(a) After the i)nrchase of the two papers C'.illjcrt 
and Keml)le had no use for two presses. The old 
Rainage press on which the Californian had been 
printed was sold to P.. 1''. VVashin.i?ton. Taken to Sac- 
ramento, the first paper, the F'lacer Times, was printed 
on it .\i)ril. 1S4'). Returned to San JTancisco, it was 



PUBLIC PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 2X\ 

that time it was purchased by a syndicate, and 
adv(-)cating Chief Justice Stephen J. Field for 
President, became Democratic in politics. From 
the first issue it lost money. Field's presidential 
aspirations failed to mature. An "old granny," 
the Alta struggled along until June. 1891. and 
then gave up the ghost. 

The first power press in the state was used in 
publishing the Pacific News, first issued August 
27, 1849. In the spring of 1850 several papers 
were started in San Francisco. They were all 
destroyed in the fire of May 4th save the Alta. 
The printers, packing such material as they had 
saved from the fire on the backs of mules, scat- 
tered in every direction. They started papers 
anew in all parts of the state from Shasta to San 
Diego. So fast did they multiply, the San Jose 
Journal, issued in March, 1851, became the six- 
teenth newspaper then published in the state. 

The editors of the early press were men of 
strong convictions, and forcibly expressing their 
opinions, were often called to account on the 
"field of honor." Many of these scribes were 
southern born, hot headed, quick to resent an 
insult and ready to accept a challenge. If they 
refused to fight they were branded as cowards. 
The editors of the north were also bold and out- 
spoken in their editorials and they also were 
ready to fight. If the}^ refused they also would 
lose their infiuence as editors and leaders of 
thought. 

Hence before the Civil war duels were very 
common, and not alone editors, but judges, sena- 
tors, lawyers, politicians and physicians engaged 
in the "code of honor." A state law prohibited 
dueling. It was a state prison offense Xo chal- 
lenge or accept a duel. Probably three or four 
hundred duels were fought within the time men- 
tioned. Some were amusing in their results; in 



later sent to Stockton. August 22, 185U, the tirst 
number of the Stockton Times appeared. Then hauled 
to the mbuntains, the Columbia Star was published on 
the press. For the tirst copy of this paper a French 
woman paid $16. Later during a lawsuit some person 
set lire to the office and the old press was destroyed. 



212 MEX AND r<:VKXTS 

others the parties were crippled for life, while 
frequent!}' they were fatal. The press duels were 
in most cases between the editor and some party 
who had a grievance. Occasionally editors would 
tight and that fact caused the Republican scribe 
to write, "Editors have enough to do nowadays 
to defend themselves against the outside world 
without quarreling among themseh-es." 

One of the first duels was that of Edward Gil- 
bert, United States Representative and editor of 
the Alta. Elected to Congress in 1850, he bit- 
terly denounced the immigration laws as swin- 
dling schemes. John \W. Denver, their author, 
took oltense and challenged (jilbert. The young 
editor, who had been a lieutenant in Stevenson's 
regiment, accepted the challenge. The parties 
fought with rifles August 2, 1852, at sunrise, near 
Oak grove, Sacramento. At the first fire both 
duelists missed their mark. The rifles were again 
loaded. Again they fired and Gilbert was shot 
in the abdomen and fell mortally wounded. He 
died in a few minutes. 

A duel at Stockton was that between John 
Mansfield of the San Joaquin Republican, then 
the State Democratic organ, and John Taber of 
the Stockton Journal, a XVhig paper. They had 
been writing \ery abusive articles of each other 
regarding the city printing. Taber, suddenly 
meeting Mansfield on the morning of June 22, 
1854, drew a revoher and shot Mansfield. He 
died the following day. 

As this was not a pre-arranged murder, as duels 
are always premeditated, Taber was arrested and 
tried for murder. He was found guilty and sen- 
tenced to be hanged. The case was now made a 
party question. A petition of nearly 100.000 
names, including senators, assemblymen, law- 
yers, judges and citizens, was sent to Governor 
Bigler praying him to pardon Taber. Prayers 
were offered in the church that the Governor 
might temper mercy with justice, and the Legis- 
lature of Texas, his native state, sent a petition 
asking a reprieve. Under the immense pressure 
and fearing that it would be used against him 
in the ensuing election if he permitted 'I'aber's 



PUBLIC PRESS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL 2L? 

execution, on March 9. 1855, he signed the 
pardon. 

In March, 1854, ten shots were exchanged be- 
tween B. F. \Yashington of the Times and Tran- 
script and C. F. Washburn, then editor of the 
San Francisco Herald. Washington, taking 
oft'ense at some of the articles in the Herald, 
challenged its editor. Washington shot to kill. 
His second shot passed through the rim of Wash- 
burn's hat. His third bullet struck his antago- 
nist in the shoulder. This ended the duel. 

The San Francisco Herald had a regular fight- 
ing editor named John Nugent. He was engaged 
in several duels. One of his duels, that of June 
11, 1853, was with John C. Hays, then sherifif of 
San Francisco. Hays resigned from his office to 
fight this duel. They fought on the Ridley ranch 
near the bay shore. As Hays was the party chal- 
lenged, he chose rifles as the weapons. At the 
second shot Hays' ball shattered the bone of 
Nugent's arm from shoulder to elbow. 

George Penn Johnson, editor, shot and killed 
Senator William Furguson. They had trouble 
over a young lady. They fought on Angel island. 
San Francisco bay, August 2, 1855. They used 
revolvers and, standing ten paces apart, they 
each fired three shots without any effect. Then 
moving forward six paces they again began shoot- 
ing. At the fourth shot Furguson was struck in 
the thigh, shattering the bone. He refused to 
have the leg amputated and, suffering great pain, 
he died September 14th. After the duel Johnson 
became a changed man. Remorse took posses- 
sion of him and he lived secluded and alone. He 
died March 9, 1884, at the time editor of the 
J^xaminer. 



FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM. 

And the star spangled banner 
In triumph shall wave, 

O'er the land of the free 

And the lunne o\ the hra\e. 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 
CHAPTER XV. 

The life of a rei)iiblic, like that of an inclix idual. 
is made up of many events. Crucial events, a 
few of them, and the turn of the dial may decide 
the destiny of the nation. 

In 1860 the United States had reached the turn 
of the dial. For more than a half century the 
south had been fightings for state rights, slavery 
and territorial extension. The north had opposed 
her claim. The Republican party, o])posing slav- 
ery, had come into existence and rapidly grew. 
Fearing its power, the south declared "If Abra- 
ham Lincoln, the Republican nominee, is elected 
President, we will secede from the Union." Abra- 
ham Lincoln was elected. True to their threat, 
the south seceded. Two months later (April 12. 
1861) South Carolina fired upon the old flag, then 
flying over Fort Sumpter. 

Immediately the states declared their loyalty 
or disloyalty to the Union. How stood Cali- 
fornia? None could tell. The presidential elec- 
tion of the previous year indicated that the state 
was almost equally divided between the three 
j^arties (a). The balance of power lay with the 
Douglas Democrats. lC\erything, however, fa- 
Aored the secessionists. The custom house, the 
postoffice and the mint were under the control 
of their friends. (3fficers of southern birth were 
in command of the arsenal, the forts and presidio. 
Many persons believed that Albert Sidney John- 
ston, the commander-in-chief, was disloyal. The 
State Legislature was Democratic. The Gov- 
ernor's loyalty was questioned, and California's 
Congressmen were friendly to the south. Three 
I if them pr(t\e(l to l)e disloyal. 



(a) In the election Lincoln received 38.734 votes, 
Doii^.I.is .W,n23. Brcckenridge 33,975. and Hell 9.136. 

216 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 217 

Secession was in the air. For several years, in 
case of war. the southerners had been planning to 
take California out of the Union and form a 
Pacific Republic. The republic was to comprise 
California, Oregon and Nevada (b). The project 
was openly declared u])on streets and in the 
press, and Congressmen and southerners boasted 
of the scheme (c). 

To carry out their ])lan of secession, they 
formed an organization known as the "Knights 
of the Golden Circle." They were organized in 
all parts of the state. They held their secret 
meetings, had their i)asswords and signs known 
only to the members, and drilled weekly. They 
claimed to have 20,000 men. At the opportune 
moment they intended to revolt and seize the 
forts and government buildings. Waiting for the 
time of action, John 11 Floyd, then Secretary of 
War, had secretly sent 20.000 stand of arms to 
California. Arms and ammunition were stored 
in the Benicia arsenal. 

In looking for a leader they approached Charles 
Doane, marshal of the Vigilantes. He was a man 
of southern birth and they believed him disloyal. 
A committee waiting on him showed him a list 
of seven hundred ])rominent men identified with 
the plot and requested him to take command. He 
told them he would give them an answer the fol- 
lowing day. That night Doane informed Colonel 
Stevenson of the plot. The colonel the following- 
morning saw David Scannell. "Dave, what force 
can you depend on?" Looking at his watch. 
Scannell replied, "It is now 8:00 o'clock; I will 
report to you at 12:00 o'clock." Scannell, meet- 



(b) In 1859 the legislatr^rc. then dominated bj' the 
Southern men, passed a law permitting a division of 
the state. Tlie law authorized the South to form an 
independent state, a Pacific republic, in ca^e the plot 
failed. 

(c) Congressm.nn John C'. I'.urcli in his letter of 
January 4. 1861. published in tiic San Francisco Her- 
ald, said: "The people of California should all be of 
one mind on this subject (a Pacilic republic), raise 
aloft the flag of the hydra-lieaded cactus of the western 
wilds and call upon the enlightened n.ations of the 
earth to acknowledge our independence and jn'otect us 
from the wreck of a once noble Union."' 




California in the Civil War. Patriotic Heroes. Thomas 
Starr King. Edward D. Baker. Ruel C. Gridley. 



CALIFORXIA DURIXC; THE CIVIL WAR 219 

ing Stevensmi at the Ik air named, said, "At any 
hour after 1 :00 o'clock, three taps upon the fire 
hell will hring- into the pdaza one thousand men, 
well armed and eqtiipped, and every man wdll 
carry twenty-five rounds of ammunition." A con- 
sultation was then held with (Governor Downey, 
the Ma^■or and the commander-in-chief, Johnson, 
and plans laid to checkmate the plot. As the 
UnicMi men were now on guard no further efl:orts 
were then made. 

The arrival a few weeks later of General E. V. 
Sumner haftied completely the hopes of the seces- 
sionists. His arrival was a surprise to hoth citi- 
zens and militia, and w^as the result of a letter 
sent to Colonel E. D. Baker by James McClatchy 
(d) informing him of the disloyalty of the com- 
mander-in-chief. General Sumner arrived April 
24th on the Golden Gate (e). He increased the 
number of regulars at Alcatraz Island, Fort Point 
and the r)enicia arsenal, and telegraphed to 
Oregon for the cr)mpanies there stationed to 
immediatclv sail for California. In a few^ weeks 



(d) Says the Sacramento Bee: "One evening James 
McClatchy was conversing with Edmoncl Randolph re- 
garding the signs of war. Randolph declared that it 
was inevitable. He hoped "that California may l^e 
saved from its horrors.' 'All looks well,' he declared, 
'but there is great danger,' as Albert Sidney Johnston 
was at heart a traitor and would give Southerners 
every opportunity to take possession of the state." 
Twenty thousand men, he declared, were ready to take 
up arms in favor of a Pacific republic. McClatchy that 
night wrote a letter to Colonel E. D. Baker detailing 
the facts of the case. Baker, an old friend of Presi- 
dent Lincoln, was at once received and Sumner sent 
to California. Sumner was instructed to leave se- 
cretly. Nevertheless, eastern friends of Johnston 
learned of the movement and immediately, by pony ex- 
press, sent word to California. Johnston received the 
letter the night before Sumner's arrival. 

(e) The Golden Gate the following year, July 27. 
1862, was entirely destroyed by fire. On her downward 
trip ofif the coast of Mexico the cry of fire was lieard 
and the steamship was immediatel)' run to shore with 
all speed. They succeeded in reaching the land, but 
198 lives were lost and over a million dollars in gold. 
Many of the pasengers wore gold belts filled with gold. 
Jumping overboard, they sunk like lead. 



220 MEX AND EVENTS 

Sumner had the forts well protected and troops 
ready at an hour's notice to march to any point. 
The California life was too slow for Sumner. 
He wanted to be in the midst of the fight. At 
his request he was relieved and General George 
AVright sent to this coast. Sumner was accom- 
])anie(l east by the Sixth infantry from Oregon 
and the Third artillery band. They left San 
Francisco for Panama on the steamship Orizaba 
October 21, 1861. (f) with the state safe from 
any local strife. 

No person was more bitterly disappointed be- 
cause of General Johnson's removal than was 
Senator (iwin. And three months previous, says 
Kenned}' in "'The Conquest of California," orders 
came from tlie War Department, by Gwin's rec- 
ommendation, that his friend Colonel Albert 
Sidney Johnston be i)laced in command of the 
Pacific department, (iwin, accompanied by Cal- 
houn Benham, also sailed on the Orizaba. But 
as they were engaged in a secret mission in the 
interests of the Southern Confederacy, they now 
sought no ])ublic honors or applause. They were 
bound for Havana, there to meet Mason and 
Sidell, the Confederacy ambassadors. The two 
men cpiietly boarded the steamship early in the 
morning and remained in their staterooms out of 
sight until after the steamer passed the heads. 
The presence of the distinguished passengers 
was reported to General Sumner and the well 
known secession proclivities of (iwin. As the 
steamer approached Panama, Sumner, on general 
principles, ordered the arrest of both Gwin and 
Benham. Ui:)on being arrested Gwin, excusing 



(f) As the steamer lay at the wharf ready to sail, 
the band began playing "Dixie Land." A lientenant 
immediately stopped them. He reported to General 
Sumner. The general turned wliite and exclaimed: 
"Damn it. let them play 'Dixie'; there's where we are 
going." As the steamer moved towards the Golden 
Gate, salutes were fired from the forts. The British 
man-of-war also saluted the General, and her sailors, 
manning the yards, leaned far out, cheering and waving 
their hands. General Sumner ordered the band to play 
"God Save the Queen." England then was friendly. 
Two years later she favored the Southern confederac}'. 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 221 

himself for a moment, stepped into his stateroom 
and quickly threw out of the cabin window the 
carpetbag which he had brought on board. The 
few passengers who saw it floating upon the 
waves little suspected its importance to Uncle 
Sam. At Panama Gwin strongly protested 
against his arrest and threatened to call upon 
the Nicaragua government for protection. He 
was taken to New York and there confined for 
a few weeks in Fort Lafayette, (jn his release 
he went to Paris. Later he was interested in 
the deal of France to seize Mexico. From that 
time until his death September 3, 1885, he was 
known as Duke de Gwdn. 

In the earl}- days of the Civil war it was almost 
impossible to make Union men believe that Cali- 
fornia was in any danger. They seemed to be 
asleep regarding the movements of the southern 
leaders, and in San Joaquin county a young man 
named George W. Tyler, then thirty years of 
age, resolved to awaken them. Coming to Stock- 
ton from Vermont (in 1860) he was positively 
convinced that the nation would soon be engaged 
in a civil war. He knew that the secessionists 
were planning to capture California and the Union 
men must be put on guard. But how? Tyler 
believed that if an attempt were made to hold a 
Union meeting in a secession stronghold they 
would sIkuv their hand and purpose. It was 
advertised that (May 15, 1861) a meeting would 
l)e held at Woodbridge for the purpose of organ- 
izing a Union club. Near by was Liberty, a 
strong secession j)recinct. The meeting was 
held in a carpenter shop, the only place large 
enough for a public assembly. The meeting was 
organized. Then a series of resolutions were 
read, eulogizing the Union, recommending the 
formation of a Union club, and a call to all Union 
men to stand by the government. Speeches were 
made in favor of and against the resolutions. 
When the chairman called for a vote upon the 
resolutions, Mark Evans, a county official and 
strong secessionist, jumped upon the bench and 
exclaimed, "Tyler, you'll never live to see those 
resolutions enforced." The threat caused great 
excitement and confusion. Efforts were made to 



222 MEX AXD EVENTS 

continue the meeting. It was impossil^le, how- 
ever, as the secessionists far outnumbered the 
Union men. The scheme had worked Hke a 
charm. The news that a Union meeting had been 
broken up in San Joaquin county was tele- 
graphed (ner the state and there was great 
indignation among the Union men regarding the 
outrage. 

In San Francisco (May 11th) a demonstration 
was held to test the sentiment oi the people. 
Everywhere the Stars and Stripes were seen. 
Montgomery and other streets were literally hid- 
den in bunting, and the sidewalks were crowded 
with men, women and children wearing the colors 
of the Union. The procession, the largest ever 
seen, was composed of all the military, civic and 
benevolent societies of the city. Piatt's hall was 
crowded and the strong Union sentiments of the 
speakers. Milton S. Latham, General Sumner, 
John McDougall and General Shields, were 
loudly applauded. 

The Fourth of July, 1861, was the day of days. 
No such patriotic celebrations have since been 
seen. It seemed as if the spirits of 1776 had 
again arisen to inspire the people with patriotic 
fire. livery heart beat to the "music of the 
Union," save a few thousand secessionists who 
were seeking to destroy. A Democratic school 
teacher had remarked "that the Fourth of July 
was played out," but the deuKMistration on that 
day proxed California's loyalty. There were a 
few l(jcal dilliculties, but cool and wise heads pre- 
vented anything serious happening. At Stockton 
a Miss Davis boastingly declared that when the 
procession passed she would wave a Confederate 
flag from the balcony of the hotel. Her friends 
prevented her from attempting such a rash act. 
The militia that day marched with muskets 
loaded and three extra rounds of cartridges. In 
Sacramento a newspaper editor raised a Hag with 
thirteen stars only, upon the plea that it was the 
only flag he possessed. He later raised a thirty- 
five star flag. The colors of the Masonic Temple 
were raised, but soon after h^wered upon the j)lea 
that Masonry did not interfere in jjolitics. All 
(lav. howexer, ( )ld ( llorv waved oxer the hall. 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 223 

During the early morn some individual spiked 
the cannon of the city guard. It required some 
two hours' work drilling another hole before they 
could fire the national salute. During the after- 
noon two men marched ])ast the St. George hotel 
carrying a cane with a rel)el flag. They were 
promptly knocked down and the flag captured. 
In Oroville a horseman rapidly rode through the 
streets waving a rebel standard. He was imme- 
diately shot and the tro])hy secured. At Snelling, 
Los Angeles and otlicr southern points the three- 
barred flag waved throughout the day unmo- 
lested. The Union men were far in the minority. 

In the United States marshal's ofifice. San 
Francisco, a small Confederate flag waved from 
a miniature man-of-war named Jeff Davis. A 
change of marshals (A]:)ril 30. 1861) hauled down 
the Confederate flag. August 16th a secession 
flag was discovered wa\ing from the window of 
the Portsmouth house. The owner withdrew it 
before the police could capture it. 

( )n the morning of October 1, 1861, early risers 
in Stockton noticed rebel flags flying from several 
public buildings, including the court house. The 
stars and stripes had been taken down. The new 
colors had been run up during the night by 
the southern sympathizers. They were hastily 
hauled down and the old flag refloated. One of 
the flags was hoisted on Banner island. This so 
enraged the owner. Captain C. M. Weber, that, 
lowering the standard, he rammed it into his 
cannon and blew it into a hundred pieces. Then, 
hoisting aloft "Old (ilory" 120 feet in height, he 
tired a salute of thirty-flve guns. 

At this time the quickest news that could be 
received was by the '"pony express" (g) which 



(g) The pony express was established in 1860. the 
tirst "pony" leaving St. Louis April 3(1. The riders 
were light, wiry men, and thej' traveled the entire dis- 
tance, 2,000 miles, in from eight to ten days. They 
rode day and night, each man traveling 25 miles. As 
a rider arrived at the station, another rider was readj- 
and waiting. Jumping into the saddle, he grabbed the 
mailbags and hastened on. They carried nothing but 
special letters and dispatches, written upon tissue pa- 
per of very light weight. Letters were carried for $5, 
each not exceeding one ounce in weight. 



^ 2£_c 




CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 225 

arrived every eight days from St. Louis, Missouri. 
Strange as it may appear, the same day as Gen- 
eral Sumner's arrival (xApril 24th) the "pony" 
brought the news that the south (April 12th) 
had fired upon Fort Sumpter. Shortly after that 
event President Lincoln called for an enlistment 
of 75,000 men for a term of three months. Cali- 
fornia was expected to supply her quota of 6,000 
men (h). So threatening was the situation, how- 
ever, "not one loyal man could be spared from 
the state." Volunteers, however, were received 
for state and coast duty. Recruiting offices were 
opened and men enlisted for garrison duty, pre- 
venting Indian massacres, guarding the overland 
mail and keeping quiet the secessionists in south- 
ern California and Nevada. For these purposes 
eight regiments of infantry and three regiments 
of cavalry were organized (i). Hundreds of citi- 
zens went east and joined the regiments of other 
states. Many of them had been prominent in 
public life. None, however, was more prominent 
than Colonel Edward D. Baker (j), who was 
killed at Ball Blufif (October 21, 1862) while 
leading his regiment. 



(h) When the war broke out there was a general 
commotion among the state militia. Many of the mem- 
bers of the various companies were friendly to the 
South, while others stood hrmly for the Union. The 
Marysville Rifles took the oath of allegiance to the 
government. They expelled their Captain, who re- 
fused to take the oath. The National Guard, San Fran- 
cisco, ofifered their services to General Sumner for 
three months' time to guard the forts. The Stockton 
Blues disbanded. Immediately the Union members or- 
ganized a new company, the Union Guard. The ranks 
were soon tilled, and they tendered their services to 
the government, to serve where called. 

(i) Among those who enlisted and went east was 
a company of cavalry known as the "California Hun- 
dred." Their Captain was Salvator Vallejo, and they 
were engaged in twenty-three battles. 

(j) Born in London, England, in 1811, his family 
in 1816 moved to America and later settled in Illinois. 
At the age of 19 years young Baker was admitted to 
the bar. Two years later he took part as a private in 
the Black Hawk war. Later he fought in the Mexican 
war, 1846. He served the state in the Senate in 1840 
and in 1844. Defeating Abraham Lincoln, he was sent 



226 MEN AND EVEXTS 

His death was California's greatest loss during 
the Civil war. Many friends blamed him for thus 
sacrificing his life upon the battlefield. They de- 
clared in living he could have been of far greater 
service to the Union, the party and society. Baker 
believed in practicing what he preached, and that 
it was his duty to go to the front. 

When Baker arrived at San Francisco. October 
19, 1861. from Oregon, salutes were fired from 
Fort Point as the steamer passed. He was then 
on his way to Washington as Oregon's United 
States Senator. The citizens asked Baker to de- 
liver an address, and in the American theatre 
(October 26th) he delivered one of the most 
masterful orations ever heard, his subject being 
"Freedom and the Republican Party." Men 
came from all i)arts of the state to hear him. 
William Kennedy, author of the book "Baker in 
the Days of '61," came all the way from Marys- 
\illc. The lecture was printed and sent broad- 
cast over the state. Many believed that this 
address "broke the backbone of the rebellion in 
California." 

Upon arrixal in New York, Baker there re- 
cruited a regiment, taking command as colonel. 
At the same time he performed his duties as 
United States Senator. 1 will close this brief 

to Congress. In 1848 he again entered the United 
States Senate. Witli Abraham Lincoln he stumped the 
states of Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota for Taylor for 
President. 

In San Francisco he landed with his family in 1852. 
His fame as a lawyer and public speaker had preceded 
him and he at once took rank with the leading lawyers 
and speakers of that day. In almost every celebration 
of note he was the orator. "For," said Attorney Gen- 
eral Williams of Grant's cabinet, "Edwin D. Raker 
was the most eloquent man I ever heard speak. He 
liad a clear, ringing voice, with an easy flow of beau- 
tiful language, and withal was an exceedingly hand- 
some man." 1 liave been informed that speaking in 
a whisper, it could be heard in all parts of the house. 

I'akcr was a leading Whig politician, and he was 
desirous of representing California in the United States 
Senate. But, popular as he was, the Democratic ma- 
jority wanted no Union man to represent them. Fail- 
ing to reach his goal, in 1860 he located in Oregon. 
The "Wel)foot" state that year elected Baker as its 
Unitrd .States Senator. 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 227 

sketch in the words of James G. Blaine, as given 
in his work "Twenty Years in Congress." "From 
the far-off Pacific came Edward Dickerson Baker, 
a Senator from Oregon, a man of extraordinary- 
gifts of eloquence. In personal appearance he 
was commanding, in manner most attractive, in 
speech most irresistibly charming. Perhaps in 
the history of the Senate no man ever left so 
brilliant a reputation for so short a service. Baker 
was in command of a California regiment and on 
August 1st he entered the Senate and took his 
seat in uniform. He laid his sword across his 
desk and for a time listened intently to the debate 
then in progress. The discussion was upon a bill 
to suppress insurrection and sedition, and Breck- 
enridge of Kentucky was then strongly reflecting 
the sentiments of the Confederate convention 
then in session at Richmond. Baker became 
restive and excited under the stinging remarks 
of the speaker and when he closed Baker sprang 
to his feet. In his eloquent reply he said, 'Are 
not the speeches of the Senators from Kentucky 
intended for a disorganization? Sir, are they not 
words of polished treason even in the very capitol 
of the republic?' It was impossible to describe 
the effect produced by his magic words, for in 
the history of the Senate no more thrilling speech 
was ever delivered." He went out from the 
Senate and a few months later lay dead in the 
camp, killed by the blundering charge of Ball's 
Bluff. His body was brought to California. He 
was buried with imposing ceremony- in Lone 
Mountain cemetery. Thomas Starr King de- 
livered the funeral oration. 

The population of the southern portion of the 
state at that time was composed principally of 
Mexicans and immigrants from Missouri and 
Arkansas. The country was thinly populated. 
Their occupation consisted in the raising of cattle 
and sheep. Nearly the entire population were in 
sympathy with the Southern Confederacy, and 
several months before the firing upon Fort Sump- 
ter bear flags were waving in the breeze in Los 
Angeles and San Bernardino county. Los An- 
geles was so bitter against the government that 
General Sumner stationed there three companies 



228 MEN AND EVENTS 

of cavalry. In liis report he declared "there is 
more dissatisfaction at that place than any other 
in the state." Their Assemblyman, E. J. C. Mc- 
Kewan, was arrested in October, 1862, for utter- 
ing treasonable language and confined in Alca- 
traz. Two weeks later he took the oath of 
allegiance and was released on giving a $5,000 
bond. 

Aiiother hotbed of secession was Snelling (k). 
Visalia and Alerced. In Merced county Union 
men were very much in the minority and in every 
campaign P. D. Wigington stumped the county 
speaking for the secession candidates. He was 
accompanied by Jim Wilson, who sang songs 
with violin accompaniment. Two of his favorite 
songs were "We'll Hang Abe Lincoln to a Tree" 
and "W^e'll Drive the Bloody Tyrant Lincoln 
From Our Dear Native Soil." The Merced Ban- 
ner said (April 24, 1862) "the United States offi- 
cers will go to any length to sustain their master, 
Abe Lincoln, whose cringing slaves they are." 
Soldiers were also stationed at Visalia. the 
Visalia Delta declaring (August 22, 1861) "trea- 
son against the government constitution is 
preached from the pulpit, printed in the news- 
papers and openly advocated in the streets and 
public places of Visalia." The Expositor printed 
an abusive rhyme regarding Lincoln. Two days 
later the soldiers mobbed the office, completely 
destroying it. 

Symi)ath}' for the south was also expressed in 
religious circles and traitors were found in the 
Methodist (South), Catholic and Episcopal de- 
nominations. They asserted that religion had 
nothing in common witii politics and the church 
was a place tt)o sacred to be polluted (1). 



(k) When tlie news was received .August 9, 1S61, of 
the federal defeat at Manassas Junction, the rebel citi- 
zens of Snellings tired cannon salutes and rejoiced 
that lO.aX) Yankees had been killed. 

(1) One pastor of the Methodist church. South, 
Stockton, believed the church so sacred that even the 
bell should nctt be rung on July 4th morning, although 
that had been the usual custom. It had been reported 
that the pastor, a rabid >ecessionist, would o])p(ise the 
ringing of tlic ludl. And tlir citizens liad nl)t.iined per- 



CALIFORNIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 229 

There were thousands of loyal Christians, none 
more loyal, however, than in the Methodist 
(North). They not only preached loyalty, but 
at all times they displayed the flag and publicly 
rejoiced over every Union victory. Most of the 
clergymen who believed in state rights had the 
good sense to publicly remain silent. The only 
exception to this rule was the Rev. William Scott 
(m), the famous pastor of Calvary Presbyterian 



mission of the trustees to ring it. The pastor, how- 
ever, locked the doors and refused to give up the keys. 
A Yankee pioneer, however, crawled in the window 
and at sunrise the old bell pealed out. The minister, 
hurrying to the church from the parsonage across the 
street, attempted to stop the ringing by hanging to 
the rope. The shipbuilder twisted the bell rope around 
the pastor's wrist with a vise-like grip, and he soon let 
go his hold on the rope, crying out with pain. 

The incident was soon the talk of the town. It 
caused great excitement, for the secessionists had 
boasted that the bell should not be rung at sundown. 
One of the number, Thomas Laspyre, foolishly asserted 
that if the bell was rung it would be rung over his dead 
body. The Lnion men declared that at sundown the 
bell would be rung or the building would be torn down. 
During the afternoon a small cannon loaded with pow- 
der and scrap-iron was placed in front of the edilice. 
ready for the fight. At sundown a large crowd began 
to assemble on the street. Union men smashed in the 
doors and the bell began its joyful peal. Laspyre at- 
tempted to stop the ringer, but a John Sullivan blow- 
sent him reeling through the door onto the sidewalk. 

(m) The Rev. William Scott, of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent, was born in Tennessee. A highly educated 
scholar, especially in the classics, he came to California 
in 1854 and at once became an associate of the leading 
minds of San Francisco. Accepting the call of the 
Calvary Presbyterian church at a salary of $5,000 a 
year, his popularity rapidly increased until 1856. He 
then made many enemies and caused a division in the 
church by denouncing the acts of the vigilance com- 
mittee. He not only denounced the committee, but he 
praj'ed for those who had been persecuted. One morn- 
ing an effigy was found hanging over the front door 
of the church. The doctor was so grieved over the 
event that he sent in his resignation. The congregation 
refused to accept it. Soon the incident was forgotten. 
He arose to his former position as one of the ablest 
divines of the coast and one of the most beloved. 

.'\fter the close of the war Dr. Scott returned to the 
United States and for several years preached in New 
N'ork. Strong was the love of many of the members 



230 MEN AND EVENTS 

church, located where now stands the St. Francis 
hotel. In his prayers he insisted in praying "for 
all presidents and rulers and all officers of the 
army and navy." As the feeling over the war 
grew more intense, it finally created trouble in 
the congregation and the reverend gentleman 
resigned and visited Europe. 

His resignation was caused by an incident 
which took place in September. 1862. In that 
month the San Francisco Presbyterian synod by 
a vote of eight to one passed a series of union 
resolutions. Dr. Scott voted against them, he 
declaring "that Jefiferson Davis was no more 
traitor than George Washington." On the fol- 
lowing Sunday morning an effigy of the pastor 
was found hanging from a sign board opposite 
Calvary church. It was placarded "Death to 
Traitors." The same party had raised two small 
flags upon the church and fastened a large flag 
to one of the lamp posts at the front entrance. 
Soon after this a woman church member tore 
down the large flag. The crowd rushing forward 
to capture it, by mistake severely beat the owner 
of the flag. His only regret was that the crowd 
took him for a secessionist. 

The crowd continued increasing until the hour 
of service drew near. In the number were 500 
Union men, sent there by the Union secret club 
to assist the police in keeping order. Dr. Scott's 
friends, fearing that personal harm would befall 
their beloved pastor, used every possible argu- 
ment to prevent his ])reaching that morning. The 
building was crowded, but only a few women were 
jiresent. Dr. Scott entered by a side door and 
in his prayer, carefully guarding his words, made 
no allusion to magistrates. He delivered as usual 
a masterly sermon ; everything was quiet, and 



of Calvary for tlicir old pastor. Receiving dismissal 
cards from that cliurcli, they organized in 1870 St. 
John's Presbyterian church. Dr. Scott accepted their 
call and he remained in charge until his death in 
January, 1885. When tlie congregation removed to 
the corner of California and Octavia streets, they 
placed within the building a magnificent memorial 
window for their late pastor. The church was re-dedi- 
cated July 13, 1889. 



CALIFORNIA DURIXG THE CIVIL WAR 231 

after the Ijenediction was pronounced, the con- 
gregation poured out into the street. The crowd 
outside opened a passageway for them. They 
immediately closed the gap, however, when the 
pastor appeared, leaning on the arm of Mrs. 
Thomas Selby. In the meantime the large flag 
had been refastened to the lamp post. As the 
pastor descended the steps to the carriage in 
waiting, a person catching hold of the corner 
of the flag stretched it across the steps, thus com- 
pelling Dr. Scott to w^alk beneath Old Cdory. 
This pleased the crowd and they hooted and 
yelled. Soon after this event Dr. Scott received 
several anonymous letters threatening his life if 
he remained in the state. The trustees accepted 
his resignation. In October, on the Uncle Sam, 
he sailed for New York and then to Europe. 

In marked contrast to the actions of Rev. W. 
Scott w'ere those of Thomas Starr King. At the 
time when some Union men were paralyzed with 
dread because of the actions of the south, and 
others undecided which way to turn, Thomas 
Starr King from pulpit and rostrum traveled over 
the state bolstering up the weak hearted and 
urging the loyal men to stand firmly for the 
Union. In his lectures, "Washington," "Daniel 
Webster," "Lexington and Concord," "The Great 
Uprising" and "The Rebellion in Heaven." in 
unanswerable arguments and matchless elo- 
quence he kindled the patriotism of the people 
into a glowing flame. He considered his country 
next to his God, and it is conceded that no indi- 
vidual did more to keep California in the Union 
than did Thomas Starr King. He did not live 
to enjoy the result of his labors. He died March 
4, 1864 (n). 



(n) In Golden Gate park there stands a handsome 
bronze statue of Thomas Starr King, erected at a cost 
of $15,000. He is regarded as one of the greatest 
patriots in American history, and he is the only civilian 
whose memory was officially honored by the federal 
army and by foreign nations. At the time of his funeral 
March 7, 1864, minute guns were fired from Alcatraz 
island and answered by a battery on L^nion square. The 
Governor and his staff were in the line of parade. Flags 
were at lialf-mast upon all of the private and public 



232 MEX AND EVENTS 

When it was learned that the south was deter- 
mined to secede there could be but one result, 
a ci\ il war. Thousands would be wounded and 
die upon the battlefield or in the hospitals. To 
relie\'e their sufferings as much as possible the 
loyal northern men organized the three commis- 
sions. They were known as the sanitary, the 
Christian, and the freedman's commission. The 
leader of the movement was Henry W. Bellows 
of Massachusetts, a co-laborer in Christian work 
with Thomas Starr King. In 1862 he wrote to 
King asking him to organize branch commissions 
in California. The movement was started and 
in the fall of that year California sent east to the 
suffering soldiers^ $480,000. All classes con- 
tributed, even those who favored the south, for 
the sanitary or Red Cross commission, which 
later devclo])ed, made no distinction in assisting 



buildings and f^ovcrnnient bull Jings, including all of the 
foreign consuls of the city. The shipping in the harbor 
was also at half-mast, this including the ships of Eng- 
land. Russia. Hamburg. Colombia and France. 

The pastor thus honored for his work and loyal devo- 
tion to his country was born in Boston. Massachusetts, 
December 16. 1824. His father, a Universalist minister, 
hoped to see his son enter the ministry. With that 
object in view his education was planned. He learned 
rapidly, especiallj^ in language. At the age of ten he 
could read in French and in Latin. When nineteen 
years old Theodore Parker said of him. "King's a capital 
fellow, who reads French. Latin, Italian, a little Greek, 
and now begins German." During this time he was the 
only support of the family, his father having died in 
1849. The young man taught school, did clerking, etc.. 
uiUil 1844. He then entered the ministry and four years 
later took charge of the famous llollis street church. 
I'oston. organized in 1732. He there remained until 
1859. He was then given a leave of absence because of 
failing health. Calls were then given him from Chicago, 
i'.rooklyn and Cincinnati, but accepting the call from 
San Francisco, he arrived in April. 1860. Thomas Starr 
King's fame as an elocpient speaker had preceded him 
and at every service the edifice was crowded. In the 
latter i)art of 1863 a fine large stone church was erected 
through Starr King's efforts, the congregation during 
that time also paying off a $20,000 church debt. The 
new building was dedicated Jainiary 10. 1864. and the 
pastor preached eight sermons within its walls. He 
died March 4, 1864. while repeating the twenty-third 
psalm. 



CALIFORXTA DURIN'G THE CIVIL WAR 233 

the wounded. In October, 186v\ Mr. Bellows tele- 
graphed to King, "the sanitary funds are low. 
We have already distributed over seven millions 
of dollars. Califcn^nia has been our main supp(irt 
in money, and if she fails we are lost." King- 
responded, "We will send you $25,000 a month." 
And Mr. King, putting both body and soul into 
the work of collecting funds, made good his 
promise. California contributed over $1,200,000 
gold to the sanitary fund and $34,000 to the 
Christian fund. The amount was equal to over 
a million and a half in currency, for nothing but 
greenbacks was in circulation in the eastern 
states. California with her gold helped to save 
the Union. Of this amount $275,000 was collected 
by Ruel C. Gridley (o) through the repeated sale 
of his Austin sack of flour. 

W'hen the news of the threatened Civil war 
reached California, the southern wing of the 
Democratic press sneered at the idea of any war 
and declared the reports untrue. During the 
time that they were denying the reports of war, 
their friends were secretly planning to secede. 
AMien the fact was undeniable that war existed, 



(o) Ruel C. Gridley in April, 1864. was engaged in 
the grocery business in Austin, Nevada. As the city 
election came on he bet a sack of flour with Dr. Her- 
rick that the Douglas-Democrat would be elected 
mayor. Gridley lost the bet. Its conditions were that 
the loser was to carry the flour from Austin to Clifton, 
a distance of a mile and a quarter. At the appointed 
time Mr. Gridley appeared carrying the flour on his 
shoulder, neatly trimmed with ribbons and flags. A 
procession was then formed of citizens of both parties 
and preceded by a band of music they marched to 
Clifton. 

On arrival the saloon keeper invited the crowd in 
to take a drink. While in the saloon there was much 
joking regarding this hfty-pound sack of flour. At last 
Mr. Gridley said, "This crowd of people have had their 
fun at my expense: let us see now who will do most 
for the sick and wounded soldiers. We will put this 
sack of flour up at auction to be sold for cash, with the 
understanding that the buyer is to return it, to be sold 
again for the benefit of the sanitary commission." 

Ready for any kind of excitement, the proposition 
was quickly accepted. The chairman of the local com- 
mission acted as auctioneer. It was sold and resold 



234 MEN AND EVENTS 

then they began abusing the government. The 
majority of the Democratic press took good care 
to keep within the bounds of martial law. The 
San Jose Tribune, San Joaquin Republican, 
Stockton Argus, Visalia Expositor and Merced 
Express abused the government and the United 
States troops. They were excluded from the 
mails by the orders of General Wright and thus 
su]:)pressed (p). 

During the war this press continued its abuse, 
and it culminated April 15, 1864, in the destruc- 
tion of several San Francisco offices by a mob. 
^^^^en the news was received of the assassination 
of President Lincoln, on the morning of April 
15th about 8:00 o'clock, it created intense excite- 
ment throughout the loyal state. In San Fran- 
cisco a body of men rushed to the Democratic 
Press and smashed things generally, and ended 
by throwing all of the type out of the window. 
The crowd howled. Beriah Brown, the editor, 
started hurriedly for San Leandro. The police 
dispersed the crowd, but again forming they 
served the Catholic religious paper, the Monitor 



for $4,400. Then taken to Gold Hill, it was sold for 
$5,225. Taken to other places the sales were lifeless 
without the inspiration of Mr. Gridley. This patriot 
then, leaving his business and paj'ing his own expenses, 
traveled throughout the Pacilic coast and a few of the 
eastern states, selling the famous sack of flour. 

Mr. Gridley died in Stanislaus county November 24, 
1874, of consumption, the result of overwork and ex- 
posure during his travels. He was later buried in the 
Soldiers' Grand Army plot at Stockton. Rawlins Post 
erected over his grave a magnificent marble monument 
and life-size statue. 

(p) William Hall, of the Merced Democrat, July 24, 
1864, was arrested by a squad of United States cavalry 
for uttering treasonable language and confined in Alca- 
traz prison. 

The following day C. L. Wellcr, ex-postmaster and 
president of the Democratic state central committee, 
was arrested in San Francisco for uttering treasonable 
language in a public speech. He also was imprisoned. 
The Democrats held an indignation meeting in Hays 
park and violently denounced the federal government. 
After three weeks' confinement Weller took the oath 
of allegiance and was released. 



CALIFORXIA DURING THE CIVIL WAR 235 

(q) as they had served the Press. Then followed 
in turn the News Letter, edited by the English- 
man Frederick Marriott, and the Occident, pub- 
lished by Zachariah Montgomery, one of the 
bitterest secessionists in the state. Burning the 
printing cases of these papers in the streets, the 
mob started on the run for the office of the 
French paper, the Echo de Pacifique. The Alta, 
owned by Fred MacCrellish, was in a part of 
the same building. MacCrellish succeeded in 
pacifying the mob and thus saved a part of the 
French paper. The police now succeeded in driv- 
ing back the mob and soon after General Mc- 
Dowell put the city under martial law and United 
States soldiers guarded all of the streets. 

The ships Sawnee and Saginaw were sent to 
California in August, 1865, to capture the rebel 
privateer Shenandoah. She had been preying on 
the commerce of the North Pacific and obtained 
many prizes. The Panama steamers ran each 
night without lights and were armed with Daphl- 
gren guns, revolvers and cutlasses, for they were 
in constant fear of this privateer. No steamships 
were captured. The}- would have been a rich 
prize, for everv steamer carried from $1,000,000 
to $2,500,000 in gold. 

In the spring of 1863 an attempt was made 
by a party of secessionists to fit up a vessel for 
privateering purposes and capture the gold of 
one or more steamers. They also believed that 
they could stop the exportation of gold to the 
east (r). The leaders in the plot were Aubrey 
Harpending, Ridgley Greathouse and Alfred 



(q) The Monitor was founded by James Brady, so 
said his son in the Bulletin, 1913. He was a passionate 
advocate of secession and every issue of his paper bore 
flaring articles in support of the south. The evening 
following the assassination of Lincoln, he jumped upon 
a stand in Montgomery street and making a speech 
said, "It served Lincoln right because he had gone to 
the theater on Good Friday, thus insulting one-third of 
the population of the United States, the Catholics." 
"The crowd dragged my father from the stand and 
would have hanged him, Init he was rescued by General 
McDowell and a company of soldiers then marching- 
down the street. The mob then rushed to the office 
of the Monitor, on Clay street, and wrecking the office, 
tried to burn the building." 



236 MEN AND EVENTS 

Rubery. Letters of marque and captain's com- 
mission were issued to Harpending and $250,000 
subscribed to finance the scheme. The three men 
purchased for their purpose a very fast saihng 
\essel called the Chapman. She had made a 
record breaking voyage from New York and was 
l)ought through an agent named Edward Travers. 
The vessel was loaded with two twelve-pound 
cannon, ammunition and small arms ; everything 
was heavily boxed and marked "machinery," and 
to a\"oid suspicion, as they supposed, they took 
on a large c[uantity of general merchandise, goods 
that were salable in Mexico. An able body of 
seamen were engaged to man the Chapman and 
twenty picked men, all southerners, were invited 
to take part in the work. Everything being in 
readiness for the voyage, the men on the night of 
March 14th boarded the vessel. "Our clearance 
papers," said Harpending, "we received from the 
custom house with a readiness that might ha\e 
suggested suspicions to more alert minds and 
the Chapman was certified to sail for Manzanillo 
with a cargo of machinery and mixed merchan- 
dise." The entire plot had been revealed and be- 
fore the Chapman could put to sea Chief of Police 
Lees and the naval officer, \\'illiam Farwell, 
boarded the schooner from a tug-boat. About the 
same time two boatloads of armed marines 
boarded the \essel from the sloop of war Cyane. 
All ui the men were arrested but soon after 
released, except Harpending, Greathouse and 
Rubery. They were tried in the federal court 
and con\icted of an attempt to commit piracy on 
the high seas. They were sentenced to ten years 
in a federal prison. Greathouse and Harpending 
were shortly released under the amnesty procla- 
mation of I'resident Lincoln. Rubery was par- 
doned by the President through the intercession 
of his uncle, John Bright, the great English lal)or 
leader (s). 

(r) Jefferson Davis realized the importance of shut- 
ting off the great gold shipment and said. "It would be 
more important than many victories in the field." 

(s) Aubrey Harpending, now seventy-four years of 
age, wrote up this story for the San Francisco Bulletin. 
October, 1913, together with the famous Arizona dia- 
mond su'indlo. 



THE WHEAT AGE, 1865-1890 



LEADING EVENTS 



Labor Strikes. 

Concentration of Wealth. 
Persecution of Chinese. 

Formation of Labor Unions. 

Settled Condition of People. 

Adoption of New Constitution. 
Organization of Corporations 
Exportation of Food Products. 
Building of Overland Railroad. 
Rapid Increase of Population. 
Building of Beautiful Homes. 

Opening of Nevada Silver Mines. 

Development of Southern California 

Grabbing of ^Mineral and Timl:)er Lands. 
Higher Intellectual and Moral Living. 

Founding of Libraries and Universities. 
Increase of Benevolent Societies. 

Organization of Workingmen's Party. 
Construction of Costlv Pul)lic and Private Buildings. 



in 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

When the Leg-islature of 1861 assembled at 
Sacramento, members true to the Union were in 
the majority. And they resolved that no disloyal 
man should again represent California in Con- 
gress. Senator Gwin's time expired March 4. 
1861, and the aspirants for the office were Timo- 
thy G. Phelps, Republican; John McDougall, 
Douglas Democrat, and John Nugent, Breckin- 
ridge Democrat or secessionist. The Legislature 
stood in joint session : 57 Douglas Democrats, 
33 Secessionists, and 24 Republicans. Neither 
party could elect without votes from one of the 
other parties. In the voting Phelps took the lead. 
John Nugent was a close second and gaining 
rapidly. On the twenty-first ballot the vote 
stood: Phelps oS, Nugent 44 and McDougall 22. 
]Mieli)S, fearing that Nugent would be elected, 
withdrew his name (a). Phelps' votes were then 
given to John A. IMcDougall and he was elected 
(b) Senator to serve until March 4, 1867. 

A series of Union resolutions were introduced 
early in the session. They indorsed the Repub- 
lican administration and denounced traitors. 
These resolutions caused some very heated de- 
bates, especially from the friends of the south. 
Four of the Senators were natives of Mississippi, 
Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, and they 



(a) In withdrawing his name Mr. Phelps declared, * * 
"I believe this is a time when patriotism should be 
above party, and when all party considerations should 
be made subservient to the greater interests of our 
country." 

(b) As soon as McDougall's friends learned of liis 
election, a salute of thirtj'-four guns was fired on the 
river bank in his honor. Then hauling the cannon to 
the front of the Orleans house, it was again fired. The 
concussion broke over one hundred windows in the 
Orleans and Union hotels. Before the smoke had rolled 
away everybody was invited into the saloon. Then 

238 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 239 

made strong secession speeches (c). Henry 
Edgerton, a native of \^ermont, was the Union 
leader in the Senate, and he made an unanswer- 
able argument in support of the resolutions. His 
speech caused a sneering remark from Thomas 
Laspyre in the Assembly. John Conness came 
to the defense of Edgerton and it caused a sensa- 
tion (d). 

Another difhculty occurred in the Assembly 
l)etween Showalter of Mariposa, a secessionist, 
and Percy of San Bernardino, a Douglas Demo- 
crat. The result was a challenge by Percy, a duel 
and a tragedy. The preliminary arrangements 
were made in Sacramento. The duel was fought 
May 24tli near San Rafael. The weapons used 

J. M. McCleary offered the toast: "The health of Gen- 
eral McDougall, whom no poor man ever applied to for 
assistance in vain." 

James A. McDongall. if reports be correct, was the 
brightest Senator ever in Congress from California. 
Born in Albany, New York, in 1817, he early in life 
emigrated to Illinois. At the age of twenty-live he was 
elected Attorney General of that state, and there came 
in touch with such men as Thomas Corwin, Edward D. 
Baker, John A. Logan, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen 
A. Douglas. He came to California in 1849 and the 
following year was elected Attorney General. At the 
time of his election as United States Senator he was a 
very intemperate man. He was often drunk in the 
vSenate, sometimes picked up from the streets of Wash- 
ington and carried to his hotel. He deeply disgraced 
the state and died soon after his term expired in Al- 
bany, New York, September 3, 1867. a victim of the 
social drinking custom. 

(c) One of the speakers. R. D. Critten, of South 
Carolina, said in closing an eloquent speech. "Heaven's 
blessings attend her. Whilst I live I will cherish, pro- 
tect and defend her. And when this tongue fails to 
speak in her behalf, or when this right arm fails to 
strike in her defense, palsied be the one and withered 
the other." 

(d) Conness remarked that Laspyre had used "unpar- 
liamentary and discourteous language in speaking of a 
member of another house." Laspyre replied, "You tell 
what is false." Conness then replied, "You are a dirty 
dog." An inkstand then flew at Conness' head. It 
missed its mark, but ink was spattered freely over the 
members. Conness then hurled an inkstand at Laspyre. 
More spattering of ink. Laspyre then, drawing a dirk 
knife, started for his assailant. He was quickly held 
and disarmed. 




Political Revolutions. Peter H. Burnett, California's 
First Governor. Leland Stanford, Governor and 
Senator. Renry H. Haight. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 241 

were rifles. 'I'he duelists stood forty paces apart. 
At first fire both duelists missed their mark. 
Percy's bullet, however, whistled close to Sho- 
walter's head. Percy was shot through the 
mouth at the second fire. Falling heavily to the 
earth, he died in a few minutes. Showalter was 
then thirty-two and Percy but twenty-four years 
of age. Showalter was a rabid secessionist and 
in 1862 he was arrested and confined in Fort 
Yuma, on the Colorado river. In 1866 he was 
shot at Mazatlan, Mexico, while engaged in a 
drunken fight and died from the effect of the 
wound. 

The election of a Union United States Senator 
was but the commencement of the fight. The 
next and most important contest was to elect 
none but Union state officers. The Republicans 
were first in the field. Assembling at Sacramento 
June 11, 1861, they nominated Leland Stanford 
for Governor. For Attorney General they nomi- 
nated the staunch Republican, Frank Pixley (e). 
The southerners called him "the abolition editor." 
The Republicans in their platform repudiated the 
doctrine of state's rights and they resolved that 
"the doctrine that a state is superior to the fed- 
eral government * * * and has the right of 
secession * * * i>^ repugnant to the constitu- 
tion, of every principle of our system of govern- 
ment, and can only result in the destruction 
of our Union and the establishment of general 
anarchy." 

The Union Democratic convention composed 
of Douglas men July 4th assembled at Sacra^ 
mento and organized. The following day they 
adopted a platform. It indorsed the government. 
It differed from the Rei)ublican in this very im- 



(e) Frank Pixley, then editor of the San Francisco 
Herald, was thus stigmatized as an abolitionist by the 
secessionists because he wrote, "I am in favor of giving 
a pardon to every Negro belonging to a rebel in the 
Union." Pixley, who was a pioneer, in partnership with 
Frederick Somers, a writer, in 1877 established the 
Weekly Argonaut. Pixley was a very able but pungent 
editor, and in later years he injured the popularity of 
his paper by his repeated attacks on the Pope and the 
Catholic church. He was the editor at the time of his 
death. August 11, 1895. 



242 MEN AND EVENTS 

portant principle : They opposed any coercion 
of the south. For Governor, John Conness, John 
Bidwell and John (i. Downey were placed in 
nomination. Ex-(iovernor Downev (f) was their 
choice. 

The Breckinridge, or secession convention, as 
it was called, assembled July 11th at the capital. 
The platform presented by the committee and 
adopted by the convention was so permeated 
with treasonable sentiment that some of that 
committee presented a minority report. It de- 
clared "that we are oppexsed to the employment 
of force against the seceding states. * * * 
Resolved that if the union cannot be preserved 
by constitutional guarantees which will be ac- 
ceptable to both sections of the Confederacy 
* * * then we are in favor of the recognition 
of the Confederate States * * * and a treaty 
of amity and peace between them and the United 
States." 

For (iovern(ir they nominated the well known 
secessionist, John R. McConnell. The speakers 
in nominating the various candidates gave ex- 
pression to many treasonable sentiments. Tlicy 
were all heartily ap])lauded. None received 
greater applause, however, than the passionate 



(f) John G. Downey, born in Ireland Jnne 24, 1827, 
came to America at the age of tU'teen years, to live in 
Virginia with his two sisters. He had a good schooling, 
and the sisters again sent him to school. They wished 
him to study for the priesthood. He learned to com- 
pound drugs, however, and arrived in California in 
1849 with only $10 in his pocket. Purchasing a shipload 
of drugs at a 20 per cent discount, he shipped them to 
Los Angeles and cleared $3,000 on their sale. The 
election of Milton S. Latham placed him in the Gov- 
ernor's chair and he won the plaudits of the state by 
vetoing the bulkhead steal bill and for his loyalty to 
the Union. Retiring from politics, he invested in land, 
cattle and sheep, and dying March 1, 1894, left a half 
million. .Xt the age of twenty-six he married a Spanish 
girl, daughter of Don Rafael Guirdon. She was killed 
in the Tehachapi railroad disaster January. 1883, and he 
was badly injured. in his old age the ex-Governor 
again married, a young woman named Rose V. Kelly. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 243 

address of Edmond Randolph (g). In closing 
he said, "Gentlemen : My thoughts and my heart 
are not here tonight in this house. Far to the 
east, in the homes from whence we came, tyranny 
and usurpation, with arms in its hands, is this 
night perhaps slaughtering our fathers, our broth- 
ers, and our sisters, and outraging in every con- 
ceivable way shocking to the heart of humanity 
and freedom. To me, it seems a waste of time 
to talk. For God's sake, gentlemen, tell me of 
battles fought and won. Tell me of usurpers 
overthrown, that Missouri is again a free state, 
no longer crushed under the armed heel of a 
reckless and odious despot. Tell me that the 
state of Maryland lives again, and oh, gentlemen, 
let us read, let us hear at the first moment that 
not one hostile foot treads the soil of Virginia. If 
this be rebellion, then I am a rebel. Do you want 
a traitor, then I am a traitor. For God's sake 
speed the ball, may the lead go quick to his heart 
— and may our country be free from this despot 
usurper, that now claims the name of President 
of the United States." 

The campaign of that year was the hottest and 
most bitter of all political contests. It was a 
struggle for union or disunion. On the one side 
stood the Republicans for the Union, one and 
inseparable ; upon the other side fought the 
southerners, determined if possible to make of 
California the leading state in a Pacific republic. 
Halting between two opinions were the Douglas 
Democrats. Broderick had split asunder the 
Democratic party over the question of slavery 



(g) Edmund Randolph was of the famous John Ran- 
dolph family of Virginia. He inherited the good and 
bad qualities of his ancestors, a bright, active mind, 
generous, hot headed, erratic nature, a strong love of 
state, and a noble character. He was a loyal citizen un- 
til the secession of Virginia. Then he became a strong 
secessionist. In this speech he concentrated all of the 
energy, sarcasm, bitterness and eloquence of a Ran- 
dolph. His friends were astonished and one of them 
exclaimed, "Great God. did you ever hear eloquence 
like that: Randolph seems to be on fire." It was the 
flame of wasting vitality (tuberculosis) brightening be- 
fore its death. At the age of thirty-five years, he died 
September 8, 1862. 



244 MEN AND EVENTS 

or no slavery in Kansas. For tliis he was chal- 
lenged and died for the Union. The southerners, 
knowing their cause was weak, now attempted to 
reunite the old party. But when news came of 
the attack on Fort Sumpter all further efforts 
for reconciliation were useless. The Douglas 
Democrats were true to the Union (h) and al- 
though they still held their party intact, thou- 
sands of them, deserting their standard, \-oted 
the Republican ticket. As a result Stanford (i) 
polled 56,056, McConnell 32.750 and Conness 
30,944 votes. 

The loyal men were now assured that Cali- 
fornia was safe for the Union. The Republicans 
liad elected their complete state ticket and they 
had a strong majority in the Legislature. To 
keep the state in line, it was necessary to con- 
tinue none but Union men in office. Early in 
A])ril, 1863, the Union state committee published 
a call "to all citizens wdio were willing to sustain 
the national administration, in its effort to sup- 
press the rebellion," to meet in state convention. 

The ])arty assembled June 17th in Sacramento, 
in their platform they favored a continuation of 
the w^ar "without regard to cost or sacrifice until 
the last rebel is disarmed, and with no party 
advocating 'peace upon any terms' while there is 
an enemy of the Union in open rebellion against 
the government." Still further they called "upon 
all loyal citizens to unite with us in rebuking and 
defeating at the polls in September next, the 
malignant tribe of copperheads (J) who, falsely 
claimini'- the name of Democrat, seek * * * 



(h) The day I'ollowing the news of the firing on 
Fort Sumpter, May 8th, the state committee of the 
Doughis Democrats met and resolved "that the people 
of California in the past have l^een most anxious for 
peace throughout the land * * * at the same time 
they arc. al)ove all things, for the Union, the country 
and the flag; against all assailants." 

(i) California's war Governor was born in New 
^'ork, Marcii 9. 1.S24. He received a common school 
education and when of age began the study of law. 
Soon after this ho moved to Wisconsin and there met 
and married Jane Lathrop. In 1X52, following after 
his l)r()tiiers who preceded him, lie came to California. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 245 

to discourage our armies in the field and to cor- 
rupt the patriotic sentiment of the people." 

Their nominee for Governor was Frederick 1^\ 
Low, and for Congressman from the middle dis- 
trict William Higby was nominated. He had 
been expelled from the Douglas state committee 
because of his endeavor to form a fusion with 
the Republicans. 

The desertions of the Douglas Democrats from 
their party and the small following of the Breck- 
inridge Democrats so paralyzed the leaders that 
both parties failed to materialize in the election. 
A number of Democratic clul)s uniting, organized 
and formed a fusion Democratic party. They 
held their con\-ention July 8th and bitterly op- 
posed the continuation of the war. In their plat- 
form they denounced the emancipation, the arrest 
of civilians by the militia, the suppression of free 
speech of the press and the "fanatical" attempt 
to place the Negro on an equality with the white 
man. Believing that John G. Downey would 
poll thousands of Union Democratic votes, they 
nominated him for Governor. Their belief was 
not well founded for Downey received only 
44,843 votes. Low received 64,447. 



After engaging in mining a short time, he and Charles 
Crocker established a general merchandising store in 
Sacramento. One of the founders of the Republican 
party in 1856, he later became a Republican leader. 
Defeated for State Treasurer in 1857 and for Governor 
in 1859, he was chosen in 1860 as a delegate to the 
Republican national convention and cast his vote for 
Lincoln. In 1861 he was elected Governor, in 1885 
United States Senator, and in 1891 re-elected. He 
served the full term, and died June 21, 1893. His politi- 
cal life was highly commendable. As Governor he did 
everything possible to maintain California as a loyal 
state and he gave freely of his money and time to the 
Union cause. In the Senate iiis "loan land" bill indi- 
cated his sympathy for the laboring man. In the indus- 
trial world none accomplished more for California than 
he. As one of the four who built the Pacific railroad 
he was abused and vilified beyond measure. Ten years 
later he was praised by press and people. His work 
ceased not with the building of the overland railroad. 
He purchased and began improving three of the world's 
largest ranches, Palo Alto. Vina and Gridley, and tinally 
deeded them to the state for the cause of education, 
Leland Stanford Junior University. 



246 MEN AND EVENTS 

An amendment to the constitution that year 
provided that state officers thereafter should hold 
office for four years. Hence there was no state 
election until 1867. In the meantime events were 
taking place which disrupted the Union party 
and again gave the Democrats full control. One 
of these events was the formation of labor clubs 
and their agitation against Chinese immigration. 
Another event, more serious to the party, was the 
formation of a political machine with John Con- 
ness and his friends in control. 

The trouble first began in 1865 in San Fran- 
cisco. Governor Low was then an aspirant for 
the United States Senatorship to succeed John 
McDougall. Conness was his backer, and he so 
endea\ored to "gerrymander" the districts as to 
elect legislators favorable to Low. For his pur- 
l)osc he called to his assistance the tough or 
■"short haired" class of citizens. It was a renewal 
of the Broderick tactics, with this difference, 
how^ever, an educated political man was in the 
lead, and secret, silent work was to succeed the 
1)old faced public work of Broderick. Each 
count}- was n"iani[)ulated in the interest of Con- 
ness. "Federal officers, (lOvernor Low's ap- 
pointees and two-thirds of the county officers," 
said llie IMacerville Mirror (July, 1865), "have 
been steadily working for months trying to carry 
Fl Dorado county for Conness and Low." When- 
ever the Conness faction were defeated in any 
county convention, they bolted the party and 
affiliated with the "copperheads." (J ) 

The two factions, the anti-Conness men being 
known as "long hairs," had a lively fight July 
25th at Sacramento. The result was that the 



(j) The men designated as copperheads were of that 
class not willing or courageous enougli to tight for the 
south, hut in an underliand, sneaking manner they did 
everything possible to injure the I nion cause. The 
name was derived from the copperhead snake. It 
crawled tlirough the grass keeping itself continually 
hid and hissed at every ol>ject. One evening wliile 
Starr King was lecturing lie expressed a sentiment not 
l)!easing to a secessionist and he hissed. The lecturer 
(|uietly remarked, "There's the hiss of the serpent now." 
For several minutes he was unable to i)roceed because 
of the hiugliter and applause of his audience. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 247 

"long hairs" suddenly left the convention, some 
of them by the window route. The county con- 
vention assembled in the assembly room of the 
capitol, then on j street. The desks were re- 
moved and chairs substituted. The Low men 
were all seated together ready for a scrap. After 
the calling of the convention to order, two per- 
sons were nominated for temporary secretary. 
The chairman announced that W. H. Burton, 
the "long hair," was elected. The "shorts" said 
the election was irregular. Then the trouble 
began. As the secretary started for his desk, the 
"shorts" blocked his way. Then the two factions 
clashed. Finally solid hickory canes came into 
play on the heads of the "long hairs." Spittoons 
flew like bomb shells on a' battlefield. Ink- 
stands took the place of solid shot. Pistols were 
drawn and used as clubs. Several of the anti- 
Low men jumped from the windows and the 
"shorts" took possession of the room. After the 
battle, which continued fully five minutes, the 
"shorts" were called to order. Nominating their 
elective candidates, they instructed their legisla- 
tive nominees to vote for F. F. Low for United 
States Senator. Two weeks later Low declined 
the honor, saying that after such proceedings he 
could not honorably accept the position. 

Those persons who have read this history from 
the beginning will remember that previous to the 
Civil war the leading political issue was slavery. 
During the war it was union or disunion. In the 
campaign of 1867 the two issues were Chinese 
immigration and the Central Pacific railroad. 
Anti-coolie clubs had been formed and they were 
an important factor in the contest. The railroads 
were now asking for everything in sight. They 
now entered politics for two reasons : First, to 
block a band of legislative grafters who endeav- 
ored to legislate them out of existence unless 
they "put up." Second, to elect if possible men 
to the Legislature who would further their plans. 

As the campaign opened three Republicans 
announced themselves as candidates for Gov- 
ernor ; George C. Gorham, up to this time un- 
known in politics; John Bidwell, pioneer and 
farmer, and Caleb T. Fay, a nonentity. The Anti- 



248 MEN AND EVENTS 

Coolie Club addressed a letter to each of these 
candidates asking their views on the Chinese 
question. In answer, John Bidwell replied, say- 
ing that he was "opposed to slavery in any form." 
Caleb T. Fay declared that he was opposed to 
Chinese immigration and labor. The letter of 
Ceorge C. Ciorham was remarkable because of 
its honest ring, free from any misconstruction or 
subterfuge, a quality seldom found in politicians. 
He declared. "I am opposed to human slavery 
* * * Because I am opposed to the coolie 
system, I am not the enemy of its victims. I 
believe in the Christian religion, and that rests 
upon the universal fatherhood of (lod and the 
brotherhood of man. I am as emphatically t)p- 
posed to all attem])ts to deny the Chinaman the 
right to labor for pay, as I am to the restoration 
of African slavery whereby black men were com- 
pelled to labor without pay." 

The Republican convention assembled June 
12, 1867, in Sacramento. The contest for Gov- 
ernor narrowed itself to Gorham and Bidwell. 
The San Francisco delegates, sixty-three in num- 
ber, were solid for Gorham. He had worked 
the wires in the workingmen's convention and 
by the promise of an eight-hour law had cap- 
tured their votes. In that convention they had 
outnumbered the people's and the Union party. 
The delegates from many interior counties, "cow" 
districts, Pixley called them, were pledged to 
Gorham. The people in general opjiosed Gor- 
ham. They believed him a "railroad man" ( wiiich 
he was) and a dictator bound to rule or ruin. 
Their choice was John Bidwell. "the honest 
farmer." The convention organized for business. 
It was then learned that Sacramento had two 
sets of delegates seeking admission. It was the 
faction of 1865, the "short" and the "long" hairs. 
The former were pledged to Gorham for (jov- 
ernor and they favored W. W. Stow for chair- 
man. The latter intended to vote for Bidwell. 
with J. (I. Mch'arland as chairman. The conven- 
tion by a vote of 142 to 132 elected W. W. Stow 
chairman. The vote indicated Gorham's strength. 
The "shorts" were admitted. Gorham was nomi- 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 249 

nated for Governi)r and with him his entire state 
ticket. 

For the first time in CaHfornia poUtics party 
nominations were forced down the throats of the 
people. It was a nauseous dose and they soon 
cleared their stomachs of it. As a result thirty- 
six of the Union papers, among them the Sacra- 
mento Union (k), San Francisco Bulletin, Alta 
and Call bolted the party and, uniting", formed a 
National Republican party. They nominated 
John Bidwell for Governor. He declined the 
honor, saying, "Having been in the field once, I 
cannot consent to be a candidate again." The 
party then nominated Caleb T. Fay. He had 
no following, and as he campaigned the state he 
was jeered and ridiculed by the small audiences 
assembled. 

At this time the old line Democrats had re- 
turned to their party, for they asserted that "the 
question involved in the late rebellion had been 
settled by the war." x\ssembling in San Fran- 
cisco June 19, 1867, they nominated for Governor 
the war Democrat, Henry Huntley Haight (1). 
Said Judge Crockett while nominating Haight, 
"I have never known a better, more honest, more 



(k) Said the Sacramento Union, then the leading 
Union paper of the state, "If the Union party is to be 
run for the benefit of corrupt schemes, we must expect 
to see the people take passage in a safer political con- 
veyance." It called Gorham "a fraud" and Josiah 
Howell and William Parks, candidates for Secretary of 
State and for Controller, "no better than Gorham." 

(1) The Governor-elect was in 1860 chairman of the 
Republican state central committee. And throughout 
the terrible struggle he was a war Democrat. At 
its close he returned to the party of his early life, the 
Democracy. Of English descent, Rochester, New York, 
was his birthplace and Yale college his alma mater. In 
1844, then nineteen years ot age, he began the study of 
law; two years later he was enabled to practice before 
the Missouri Supreme Court. Forming in California a 
partnership with James McDougall in 1850, the year of 
his arrival, he took no active part in politics until 1864. 
He then declared that McClellan was his choice for 
President and for him stumped the state. He was nomi- 
nated for Governor by the convention, unanimously, as 
they believed him opposed to the Chinese and the rail- 
roads. 



250 MEN AND EVENTS 

upright man than he." The Democrats advo- 
cated the cause of the laboring man and "favored 
making eight hours a legal day's work." They, 
]io\ve\er. believed it impractical to maintain re- 
])ublican institutions based upon the suffrages of 
Negroes, Chinese and Indians. This was an arrow 
shot at Gorham's (m) doctrine, "the brother- 
hood of man." "We regard the right to regulate 
suffrage as belonging exclusively to the several 
states of this Union," they declared. State rights 
again loomed up, and they held "that the power 
to regulate foreign immigration is vested in Con- 
gress, and it is the duty of that body to protect 
the Pacific states from an influx of Chinese and 
Mongolians." The Republicans in their platform 
deemed the passage of an eight-hour law emi- 



(nij In my boyhood days I heard every speaker on 
the stump, the rough, coarse nominee Broderick, the 
refined and polished orator Milton S. Latham, the 
liandsome, tall, suave candidate Wm. M. Gwin, the hery 
eloquent debater Henry Edgerton, and the orator sub- 
lime in elocjuence Thomas Fitch. George C. Gorham 
was my hero. Handsome in appearance, tall, but thirty- 
two, vigorous and ambitious, the honest ring of his 
voice convinced his hearers that in him there was no 
deceit. He preached that which he honestly believed. 
Hence his defeat. Xo honest politician has any place 
on earth. '1 he millennium is far distant. Gorham was 
born in Xew London, Connecticut, in 1833, and coming 
lo California in 1849 became a clerk in Stephen J. 
i'iclds' office, Marysville. In 1855 he was editor of the 
.Marysville Herald, in 1856 editor of the San Francisco 
.Nation, and in 1861 associate editor of the Sacramento 
L'nion. In 1856 he was city clerk of Marysville. In 
1M:2 clerk of the United States Circuit Court, and in 
1864 private secretary to Governor Low. Soon after 
his defeat Gorham was given the position of secretary 
of the United States Senate, one of the best offices in 
the nation. In the following campaign he stumped the 
state for the Republican (lovernor. Another defeat. 
l'*or the third cami)aign he was again coming, but the 
Republicati leaders wrote l)ack, "For God's sake, don't 
come." Gorham for twelve years, says the Oakland 
Tribune, was one of the most inHuential members of 
the national Republican committee. In 1884 he retired 
and engaged in literary ])ursuits, writing the biography 
of lulward M. Stanton, Secretary of State under Lin 
coin. "He was one of the brightest and most potent 
of the galaxy of brilliant and brained men who ligured 
in the early history of California." He died F'ebruary 
21, 1909. 



POLTTTCAI. REVOLUTIONS 251 

nently proper, declared that the Chinese immigra- 
tion should be restricted by legislation and be- 
lieved that the future i)rimary elections of the 
party should be lield under the primary election 
law and all persons not of the party should be 
excluded from voting. The result of the election 
was at no period doubtful. The Democrats swept 
clean the entire state. 

The cause of the defeat of the Republican party 
was clear enough. They entered the contest with 
the mistaken idea that the war had settled not 
i»nly the cjuestion of slavery, but the question of 
state rights and suffrage. They declared in their 
platform that the importation of Chinamen or 
any other people of the ^longolian races * * * 
"is in every respect injurious and degrading to 
American labor." Then they declared that this 
was a free country, the Chinese were here by 
treaty and we must make the best of it. They 
approve;d of cheap labor because it was impos- 
sible to build the railroads without the indus- 
trious Chinese. They approved of railroad mo- 
nopoly. And a few days later the convention 
accepted a free ride to Chico. They were pre- 
sumptuous enough to believe that the rank and 
file were so well broken to harness that they 
would pull anything, even a railroad. Then the 
machine was mistaken. Some years later, how- 
ever, the party began pulling the railroad and 
they so continued until 1910. Then something 
happened. 

Governor Haight's inaugural was the finest of 
the state up to this time. Accompanied by Lieu- 
tenant Governor Holden, ex-Governor Stanford. 
Downey Low and Bigler. he was escorted to the 
capitol by the Sacramento Hussars Light Artil- 
lery, the City and Emmett Guard, together with 
the San Francisco McMahon Guard and Ells- 
worth Zouaves. The oath of oftice was adminis- 
tered by Judge Lorenzo Sawyer of the Supreme 
Court. The inaugural address from the steps of 
the new capitol, then nearly finished, was de- 
livered before thousands of people from all parts 
of the state. A grand ball in the capitol com- 
pleted the event. The Governor in his address 
not only surprised l)ut pained many of his Union 



252 MEX AND EVENTS 

friends by his disloyal sentiments. He graciously 
accepted the results of the war. But he opposed 
the reconstruction policy of the administration as 
destructive of the end of federal government. He 
disapproved also of the act of Congress in keep- 
ing the ten rebel states under military rule and 
declared "it was a disgrace to our country and 
the age in which we live." 

The politicians at this time first began to notice 
the laboring man because of the strength shown 
by the Carpenters' Eight Hour League (n). In 
San Francisco they were strong enough to elect 
se\-eral Democratic legislators. They were 
pledged to an eight-hour law. The legislative 
body, believing it good policy to favor the league. 
February 21. 1868. i)assed an eight-hour law (o). 

The people are fast learning that party plat- 
forms are not worth the paper on which they arc 
printed, unless they voice the sentiment of tiie 
general public. They are simply created to de- 
ceive the ignorant and catch votes. The working- 
men learned this when they voted by the thou- 
sands for the Democratic ticket. Governor 
Haight declared "it is a short sighted policy 
which consents to curse our children * * * 
with a swarm of Asiatics whose presence will l^e 



(n) The Carpenters' League in 1867 demanded of the 
San Francisco Supervisors that they pass an eight-hour 
ordinance, and that body December 16th passed an 
ordinance that eight hours should constitute a legal 
day's work. At that time Wm. C. Ralston was building 
the Palace hotel. He refused to comply with the law. 
The mechanics then refused to work. Ralston then, 
sending east, imported several hundred mechanics. 
Upon learning of the condition of affairs, they struck 
for eight hours. They made a compromise on nine 
hours. Before the building was completed, hard times 
came on. There was no work and the men then were 
willing to labor at any price. 

(o) The law declared eight hours a legal day's work, 
unless otherwise agreed. Agricultural, horticultural and 
domestic labor were exempt from the law. The law 
also made it a misdemeanor, punishable by tine or 
imi)risonmeiit, to work any child over eight hours. 

.As early as 1855 the Assembly passed a ten-hour law. 
It declared that any employer requiring a person to 
labor more than ten hours a day or sixty hours a week 
could be lined $100 for each offense, or imprisoned until 
the tine was paid. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 253 

;i moral leprosy." And the party platform de- 
clared that the importation of Mongolian labor 
was degrading to the American race "and an evil 
that should be restricted by legislation." Yet 
they passed no restrictive law nor a single 
Chinese law until 1870. In that year they passed 
a law prohibiting the kidnaping of Chinese 
females and bringing them into this state. They 
passed a second law authorizing the appointment 
of a Chinese commissioner of immigration (p). 
James Mandeville. a prominent Democratic poli- 
tician, was appointed commissioner. In the 
newly created office he made a fortune. 

In the state campaign of 1871 the principal and 
only issue was the subsidizing of railroads. The 
Republican party, profiting by their experience 
in 1867. now turned right about and opposed all 
subsidies. They asserted in their platf(^rm June 
17th that "the subsidizing of railroads or other 
private corporations by grants of public land or 
taxation of private property * * * j^ produc- 
ti^•e of gross corruption and abuse * * * and 
we hereby pledge the Republican party to micom- 
promising opposition to any and all legislation 
for such purpose." In discussing the leader best 
fitted to carry Republicanism to victory, they 
selected Newton Booth (q) by acclamation. He 
was an eloquent speaker, a man of fine educa- 
tional attainments, and strongly opposed to the 



(p) The law authorized the commissioner to issue 
certificates to all Chinese immigrating to California 
of good moral character. 

(q) Newton Booth, born in Salem, Indiana, Decem- 
ber 25, 1825, received a good education and began the 
study of law. Immigrating to California in 1850, he 
located in Sacramento and opened a general merchan- 
dising store. In 1860 he began campaigning the state 
in favor of the Union, and courageously he championed 
her cause. In 1863 he was elected State Senator, in 
1871 Governor, and in 1874 United States Senator. At 
the expiration of his term as Senator he traveled for 
several years in Europe. Returning, he again settled 
in Sacramento and then, an old bachelor, in February, 
1892, he married the widow of his deceased partner. In 
that same year, July 14th, he died of cancer. 



254 MEN AND EVENTS 

railroad because of business (r) and political 
interests. 

The Democratic convention, believing that 
H. H. Haight had given good satisfaction to the 
people, again chose him as their banner bearer. 
As he walked upon the platform the delegates, 
all save San Francisco, rose and greeted him with 
cheers. They opposed him because he signed 
the tide land bill. He had further opposition 
also from those who declared that he was a rail- 
road man, because he signed so many railroad 
bills. Other divisions followed and finally the 
party was divided into three wings, the one led 
by Isaac Friedlander, the wheat baron ; Eugene 
Casserly, United States Senator, and Frank Mc- 
Coppin, ex-Mayor of San Francisco. The result 
was the defeat of Haight, he receiving 57,520 
votes and Booth 62,581. 

Governor Haight had made himself very un- 
popular. One of his acts causing much dis- 
approval was the signing of the bill reducing the 
state militia to 2,000 men (s & t). The Democrats 
had no love for the militia, and when they ob- 
tained control of the state government, under the 
plea of retrenchment, they cut the military appro 
priation bill fifty per cent and limited the local 
companies to 2,000 men. The military men con- 



(r) Booth in 1865 ran for State Senator from Sacra- 
mento against a candidate slated for the office by the 
Central Pacific railroad. Fearing that Booth would be 
elected secretary, they threatened to withdraw all pat- 
ronage from the firm if he persisted in running for 
State Senator. Booth & Co. were then wholesale mer- 
chants and liquor dealers in Sacramento and they were 
carrying on an extensive business with Stanford & Co. 
Booth in reply said, "My goods have always been on 
sale, my principles never." Booth was defeated. He 
lost the trade of the Central Pacific and ever after he 
fought that corporation. 

Tn 1862 the Legislature passed a law giving the 
commander-in-chief the power to recover from any 
company its arms and e(|uipment. The object was to 
l)revent traitors from getting possession of state arms. 

Tn 1865 the Legislature amended the law of 1862 
l)y giving tlie commander-in-chief authority to disband 
any company evincing a mutinous, disobedient or dis- 
orderly spirit. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 255 

strued this as an insult (u). During the Civil 
war they had freely given their time, money and 
services in the saving of California to the Union 
and many companies disbanded (v). 

The Legislature of 1871 posed as the opponents 
of the Central Pacific, yet by some mysterious 
means they elected as United States Senator the 



(u) Among the pioneers the spirit of militarism was 
in the blood. Thousands of '49'ers took part in the 
Mexican war. Captains and colonels were numerous, 
and these men organized local military companies in 
various parts of the state. There was, for instance, the 
Columbia Grays, the San Francisco Hussars, the Stock- 
ton Blues, the McMahon Guards and the Sutter Rifles. 
The companies held their picnics, target shoots and 
grand balls. They were the top-notch of societies. 
Ball tickets, including supper, have been sold as high 
as $10 per couple. The Civil war caused an estrange- 
ment. Many companies disbanded. When Governor 
Downey called for troops in August, 1861, many of 
the disbanded companies reorganized with none but 
Union men in the ranks. Many new companies were 
recruited and in 1865 the state militia comprised 140 
infantry, 20 cavalry and 5 artillery companies, all told 
8,250 men. 

(v) One of the five artillery companies was the 
"Stockton Light Artillery." They were hard hit by 
the reduction of appropriations. Being, however, men 
of fair means and having great pride in their company, 
they resolved to keep up their organization and pay 
the e.xtra e.xpense from their own pockets. They had 
a full battery, four six-pound cannon and caissons, and 
upon every proper occasion they would fire salutes. 
These being the only cannon in the city, they offered 
their services to the Democrats. They refused to 
accept them. 

In the presidential election of 1868 Grant and Colfax 
were the Republican nominees for President. May 23rd 
the artillery company fired a political meeting salute. 
The local Democrats believed it the height of impu- 
dence, firing salutes for Grant, the general who had 
whipped their friends. They made complaint at Sacra- 
mento. Three days later, June 16th, there came an 
order to disband the Stockton Light Artillery for "dis- 
orderly conduct." At the time Adjutant Allen of the 
Governor's stafif arrived. He was received by a salute 
of eleven guns. That evening all of the property of 
the company was turned over to him. As soon as the 
battery was delivered "the citizens" gave three rousing 
cheers for Grant and Colfax. 



256 MEX AND KVEXTS 

railroad's l)est friend (w), Aaron A. Sargent. He 
was no novice either in politics or Congress, for 
he had been a Representative in 1861 and 1868. 
A printer in 1850. he w^orked several years at 
the trade. During his term as Senator he was 
charged with all manner of jobs and tricks in 
the interest of the Central Pacific. One of his 
put-up jobs was the "tape work" ticket at Mare 
Island (x). Sargent again ran for United States 
Senator. He was defeated by James T. Farley. 
His candidacy was bitterly opposed by the San 
Francisco Chronicle, because he sued them for 
libel (y). He began suit in several different 
counties of the state. Sargent, after his defeat 
for the Senatorship, was appointed as Minister 
to Germany. Serving his term, he retired to 
private life and died August, 1887. 

In the campaign of 1871 a new feature in poli- 
tics was the campaign of Mrs. Laura de Force 
Gordon, a candidate from San Joacjuin county, 
for State Senator; At that time woman suf- 
frage organizations were in existence in the 



(w) Collis P. Huntington from Washington in 1877 
wrote to D. D. Cohen regarding Sargent, "It he comes 
back to us as our friend, he is wortli to us as much 
as any six new men." 

(x) In those daj's it was customary to print the elec- 
tion tickets in colors, h'ach ticket had a party distin- 
guishing mark on the back of the ticket. Bj- this means 
a person could tell the party ticket voted. The Sargent 
ticket, however, was printed in such small type, set 
solid with scarcely any margin, that it was impossible 
for the voter to substitute any other name. The em- 
ployes on the island were compelled to vote this ticket 
or lose their situations. 

(y) The Chronicle did not forget these several 
county suits. David S. Terry was their attorney. He 
also was the leader in the constitutional convention and 
his hand is seen in article I. section 9, which declares, 
"Indictments found for publication in newspapers shall 
be tried in the county where such newspapers have 
their publication ofifice, or in the county where the party 
libeled resides.' The vindictiveness of the Chronicle 
was not con lined to Sargent alone. One of the suits 
was tried in San Joacpiin county, the District Attorney 
being a young man named \Vm. H. Hosmer. Later 
in the city election May 1, 1882, he ran for police judge, 
and to defeat him if possible, the Chronicle Ai)ril 29th 
declared liini dishonest in the newspaper suit. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 257 

larger cities and the San Joaquin organization 
nominated Mrs. Gordon for Senator. She had 
been lecturing in Oregon on woman suffrage. 
In a newspaper card she accepted the nomina- 
tion and gave her reasons for so doing. Mrs. 
Gordon stumped the county, although she knew 
she could not serve if elected, and sarcastically- 
stated that the law excluded from voting, "Idiots, 
paupers. Chinamen and women" (1). After her 
acceptance she began stumping the county and 
August 28, 1871, delivered her first speech for 
woman suft'rage. Mrs. Gordon at that time was 
about thirty years of age, pretty and of hand- 
some form. Her hair was cut short and in curls. 
Her speeches were all delivered with her head 
uncovered. One of the Republican papers, a 
little worried, declared that she was speaking 
in the interest of the Democratic party. She 
could not fill the office, as the constitution de- 
clared none but qualified electors could serve. 
Mrs. Gordon was the most interesting feature of 
the campaign, but she polled only 116 votes. 

At this time there had been organized what 
was known as "Patrons of Husbandry" or farm- 
ers' clubs. There were clubs or granges in every 
farming community in the state, and they were 
organized to fight monopolies, corporations and 
railroads. Assembling in convention in Sacra- 
mento September 24. 1872, they declared that "the 
freight rates on our railroads are ruinous to our 
interests." They believed that the corporations 
were the creations of law, and therefore the 
maximum of rates on freight should be so fixed 
as to prevent extortion. They declared that the 
state's prison labor should be utilized in the pro- 



(1) Without any fanfare of trumpets or even a gen- 
eral advocacj' of the movement the Legislature of 1911 
submitted to a vote of the electors an amendment 
omitting the word "male" from the state constitution. 
It was a special election October 10th upon twenty- 
three amendments, among them home rule for counties, 
equal sufifrage, recall of state officers, initiative and 
referendum, working men's compensation, municipal 
ownership and a state railroad commission. They were 
all approved, the woman suffrage having a majority 
of nearly 4,000. 



258 MEN AND EVENTS 

duction of grain sacks, to be sold to the farmer 
at cost. They believed these matters were politi- 
cal, hence "we will cast our votes and send to 
the Legislature such men as will carry our views 
into effect" (2). 

Newton Booth was the farmers' hero, for he 
made them many promises. The goal of his 
ambition when nominated for Governor was the 
United States Senate. Winning out on the anti- 
railroad platform, he worked that platform for 
all there was in it. The Republican party was 
then under the control of the railroad machine, 
run by George C. Gorham and A. A. Sargent. 
Many of the leading Republicans now received 
no pie. Because of this they were sore, and with 
the cry, "anything to beat the railroad," led by 
Newton Booth and John F. Swift, they organized 
an Independent Republican party. They adopted 
an anti-monopoly platform from top to bottom, 
and they welcomed into their ranks "sore heads 
from any party or by any name." The Repub- 
licans called them the "Dolly V'ardens" because 
they were most decidedly mixed (3). 

The election of that year (1873 J was for legis- 
lators and county officers only. That Legisla- 
ture, however, was an important body as two 
United States Senators were to be elected. One 
to lill the unexpired term of Eugene Casserly, 
who had resigned. The other to succeed Cas- 
serly. ;\.lthough Booth was Governor, he began 
his diplomatic work for the Senatorship and suc- 
ceeded in electing c^uite a large number of farmers 
to the Legislature. It was the most motley legis- 
latixe body ever asseml)k'(l. as it comprised men 



(2) As we know, their rccoininciuUitions were 
adopted by the Legislature and for nearlj- thirty years 
the fanners have been using state's prison - made 
grain sacks, sold at cost. A railroad commission was 
created. But for twenty years they accomplished noth- 
ing and only wasted the farmers' coin. In 1910, how- 
ever, a railroad commission was created bj^ the pro- 
gressive Legislature that gave results, and now cor- 
porations and railroads are the servants, not masters 
of the people. 

(3) .About this time a new pattern of calico was put 
upon the market, it was composed of many colors and 
figures and called bv tin- trade "Dollv X'ardcn."" 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 259 

who four years previous had been known as Re- 
pubHcans, aboHtionists, war Democrats, peace 
Democrats, secessionists and copperheads. When 
the time of the election was at hand (December, 
1873), the Democrats nominated James T. Farley, 
the Republicans James M. McShafter, later Su- 
preme Judge, and the "Dolly Vardens" Newton 
Booth. On the fourth ballot Booth was elected 
to succeed Casserly by a majority of one. His 
(4) term began March 4, 1875. When his elec- 
tion was announced a yell went up from the 
gallery and lobbies, which were densely packed. 
Ladies within the bar waved their handkerchiefs 
and men threw up their hats, for Booth's agree- 
able manners, handsome features and splendid 
ability as a speaker made him popular with both 
sexes. Governor Booth then astonished all 
modest men by his staying qualities, as he stuck 
to the Governor's chair until February 27, 1875. 
He was then compelled to resign in order to reach 
Washington by March 4th. His successor was 
the Lieutenant Governor, Romaldo Pacheco, who 
occupied the Governor's chair nine months only. 
The Dolly Varden Legislature on the question 
of temperance stands pre-eminent. In its two 
sessions it passed seven liquor laws. And Gov- 
ernor Booth, although engaged in the wholesale 
liquor business, signed every law. All honor to 
him ! The laws were aimed directly at the liquor 
traffic. Three of them made it a criminal offense 
to sell liquor to minors under sixteen years of 
age, within two miles of the state university, or 
within one mile of the Napa asylum. They de- 
clared that no saloon keeper could collect a liquor 
debt over $5.00 in amount. They prohibited the 
selling of licjuor on election days during the vot- 
ing hours. Then, to feel the public pulse on the 
temperance question, March 18, 1874, they passed 

(4) Before Booth's election as Governor it was 
whispered that he was seeking the United States Sena- 
torship. Booth promised that if elected Governor he 
would seek no other office while acting as Governor. 
The breaking of that promise led to the passing of a 
law that session making the Governor ineligible to 
the United States Senatorship while in office. This 
law was repealed at the state election held November 
3, 1914. 



260 MEN AND EVENTS 

the "local option and ci\il damage bill" (5), but 
the Legislature found that they were fifty years 
ahead of public sentiment, for they found that not 
only the Supreme Court, but the people "sat 
down upon it" heavily. Wherever a local option 
election was held whisky came out ahead. De- 
feated in Alameda county by a vote of 2,382 to 
2,331, the temperance people carried the case to 
the Supreme Court. "Unconstitutional," the 
court declared. 

In the state election of 187.^ both Republicans 
and Democrats worked hard to defeat the Inde- 
pendent Anti-Monopolists. There were four 
parties striving for state control, the three men- 
tioned and the Temperance Reform party. The 
Republicans nominated Timothy G. Phelps for 
GoAernor, and then many of the rank bolted the 
party and joined the Independents. The cause, 
Phelps was a monopolist and big land owner. 
The Independents, however, nominated John 



(5) This law declared that where one-fourth of the 
legal voters of a city or precinct by petition called 
upon the Superior Court so to do, said court should 
call a special election to vote upon the question of 
license or no license of saloons. If the majority voted 
against license, then the saloon must close. Drug 
stores selling liquor for medicinal purposes were 
cxemi)t from this law. 

.\lthough this Legislature passed these laws, it was 
Ijy no means a non-li(iuor drinking body. A saloon 
was near every capitol building and in the second Legis- 
lature man}' of the memliers became beastly drunk, 
even during session hours. At Vallejo the saloon was 
too far distant and a new saloon was opened directly 
opposite the capitol. At Sacramento the saloon was 
too far distant and in 187L the Governor being a whole- 
sale liquor dealer, they opened a "well" in the base- 
ment of the capitol. That "well'' continued to flow 
until \H93, notwithstanding the fact that in 1880 they 
passed a law ])rohibiting the sale of li(|uor upon the 
capitol grounds or within a mile of the building. The 
Legislature of 1886 and 1890 disgraced themselves and 
the state by tlicir drunken carousals and licentious acts 
with women clerks. When the attention of the Legis- 
lature of 1890 was called to their violation of law, 
moralit\' and decency, the Senate refused to even take 
action upon the resolution. In the session of 1893 the 
"well" was again opened as usual, but Assemblyman 
Tlledsoe, of Sonoma, succeeded in having the infamy 
closed. 



POLITICAT. REVOLUTIONS 261 

Bidwell, "king of Tehama county" and owner of 
10,000 acres of fine land. The Temperance Re- 
formers wanted Bidwell for their candidate also, 
but he telegraphed them, 'T stand upon the peo- 
ple's independent platform. Believing firmly in 
temperance, will accept no further nominations." 
The temperance people nominated W. E. Lovett. 
The Democratic standard bearer was William 
Irwin. 

The Republican party now played the baby 
act and cried out that the Central Pacific had 
caused the defeat of the party by their "past 
schemes and political intrigues." George C. 
Gorham received more than his share of denun- 
ciation, they asserting that he was a better friend 
to the Central Pacific than to his party. The 
new issue, freights and fares, was touched upon. 
They declared that the government had the right 
to regulate them. Candidates, they asserted, 
should pledge themselves "to oppose any dis- 
crimination between places." They opposed cor- 
porations and monopolies and then nominated 
the wealthy land owner, T. G. Phelps. Now gra- 
ciously greeting the farmer, they earnestly in- 
vited his co-operation in the cost of transporta- 
tion and a reduction in taxes and the inauguration 
of a plan of irrigation by representatives of their 
own selection in the Legislature. 

For the first time in California politics the color 
line was erased and they adopted a resolution 
"that all citizens, without distinction of color, are 
entitled to equal advantage of public school edu- 
cation." Four years previous one of the features 
of the campaign was the Republican colored 
clubs, and they declared "in the future our politi- 
cal watchword must be admission to our public 
schools for every child in the state, without regard 
to color" (6). 



(6) There was nuich trouble over the school ques- 
tion and in other ways. On the Fourth of July the 
colored men accepted a position in the parade. The 
firemen of Sacramento and Stockton, learning of their 
acceptance to parade, declared, "We won't march with 
the damned niggers." The colored men then withdrew. 
In Sacramento, however, they replied, "Well, we would 
have been humiliated anyhow to march with copper- 
heads, secessionists and traitors." 



262 MEN AND EVENTS 

Neither the RepubHcans nor the Independents 
touclied upon the Chinese question, which was of 
far more importance to the working man than 
freights and fares or corporations. The Demo- 
crats, quick to notice this oversight, in conven- 
tion June 29th asserted that the local government 
was sufficient to stamp out the Chinese evil and 
it was not necessary to go to Congress. They 
demanded an amendment to the Burlingame 
treaty which would make it a treaty for com- 
mercial purposes only. They opposed all mo- 
nopolies. They favored irrigation. And they 
recommended the calling of an election for dele- 
gates to a constitutional convention. The meas- 
ure had been opposed by the Republicans. Wm. 
Irwin (7) was elected by a big majority, the 
actions of Congress over the Chinese question 
defeating the Republicans. The vote stood, 
Irwin 61,509, Bidwell 20.732, Phelps 31,322. 

As the Legislature had been elected upon cer- 
tain issues, they catered to their party and passed, 
first, a law authorizing the supervisors of San 
Francisco to appropriate $5,000 from their general 
fund. The money was to be expended in sending 
delegates to Washington to solicit Congress 
to modify the Burlingame treaty and check Chin- 
ese immigratit)n. They also passed a cubic air 
law applying to San Francisco only (8). Its 



(7) William Irwin, a very honest and conscientious 
Governor, was horn in Ohio in 1828. Graduating from 
Marietta college, he began studj'ing law. To Vreka. 
California, he immigrated in 1852 and for several years 
he puhlislied the Union. In 1862-63 he was in the 
Asscml)ly from Yrcka, then locating in Siskiyou county 
he was their Senator in the eighteenth, nineteenth and 
twentieth sessions. As the new constitution was 
adopted during his term he held office four years and 
nine months. At the time of his death March 15, 1886, 
he was liarhor commissioner. He was buried in the 
state plot at Sacramento. Not a monument, not even 
a headstone, marking his resting place until 1892. Then 
Senator Price called tlic attention of the Legislature to 
this shameful neglect of the honest, faithful Governor 
and $5,000 was appropriated for a suitable monument. 

(8) This law prohibited any person from sleeping 
in a room liaving less than five hundred cubic feet of 
space. .Ml police officers were authorized to search 
houses and see tliat tlu- law was olicyed. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 263 

object was to compel them to leave the city. It 
was declared unconstitutional. They also passed 
a law authorizing the Governor to appoint three 
railroad commissioners at a salary each of $5,000 
a year. 

Soon after Governor Irwin took his seat there 
came into existence an organization later known 
as the workingmen's party. It was com- 
posed of common laborers and mechanics and for 
a season they kept the citizens and politicians 
busy. They had no political strength except in 
the four largest cities. They succeeded in carry- 
ing several local elections and sending to the 
Legislature quite a large representation and caus- 
ing the adoption of a new constitution. Assem- 
bling in San Francisco October 7, 1877, they 
organized by electing Dennis Kearney, president ; 
John G. Day, vice president, and H. L. Knight, 
secretary. "The Chinese must go," was their 
slogan, and they denounced all capitalists, rail- 
roads and corporations (9). 

They succeeded in sending to the Legislature 
of 1880 ten Senators and sixteen Assemblymen. 
Among them was John W. Bones, a railroad con- 
ductor, elected from Alameda county. Nathan 
Porter, one of the brightest and best men of the 
state, died January 3, 1878, and January 22nd an 
election was held for his successor. Alameda was 
a strong Republican county and the Republicans 
anticipated an easy election of their nominee, 
W. W. Crane. It rained heavily that day. The 
Republicans polled a light vote. The working 
men, putting forth extra efforts, elected their 
man. In the previous September election the 



(9) They declared "the object of this association is 
to unite all poor and working men and their friends 
into one political party for the purpose of defending 
themselves against the dangerous encroachments of 
capital and the happiness of our people and the liberties 
of our country." Then followed a long list of the re- 
forms they proposed to carry out to wrest the govern- 
ment from the hands of the rich, to rid the country of 
cheap Chinese labor, as soon as possible to abolish 
banks, to destroy the land monopoly and the great 
money power of the rich by a system of taxation, to 
provide decently for the poor and unfortunate, and to 
elect none but working men and their friends to office. 



264 MEN AND EVENTS 

working men polled only 118 votes out of a total 
of 7.118. In January they polled 2.730. the Re- 
publicans 2.138 and the Democrats 572. The San 
Francisco clubs were so delighted over the result 
that they tendered Senator Bones a rousing ova- 
tion. The monster jiarade indicated that the 
party possessed both numerical as well as physi- 
cal strength. Soon after this the working men 
of Oakland and Sacramento elected several can- 
didates in their local elections. A few of the 
newspapers, believing that they were the coming 
power, began assisting and advocating their 
cause (10). 

The most important work in which the new 
party figured was on the formation and adoption 
of the new constitution. They believed that a 
new constitution formulated by them would 
cause the millennium to appear. In 1873 the ques- 
tion of a new constitution had been discussed. 
No action was taken, however, until September 
5, 1877. On that date the voters declared by a 
small majority that they desired a new organic 
law. The Democratic party, from which most of 
the working men had strayed, was anxious to 
again have them within the fold and if a new 
constitution would bring them back, well and 
good. So the Democratic Legislature (March 
30. 1878) passed a law calling for a special elec- 
tion to be held June 19th for the election of 154 
delegates to a constitutional convention. The 
working men now labored with great enthusiasm 
to elect at least a majority of the delegates. As 
their nominees were not qualified to fill such an 
important trust, the old parties were compelled 
to unite. Organizing what they called a non- 
partisan party, they gave plenty of time and 
money that they might elect men well qualified 
to form a new constitution (11). 

The convention convened in the capitol build- 
ing September 28. 1878, and adjourned sine die 
March 3, 1879. It was a fairly representative 



(10) Their principal advocate was the San Francisco 
Chronicle. It called Dennis Kearney "a great political 
leader" and gave him unstinted jiraise. After his re- 
fusal, however, to submit to their dictation, the Chroni- 
cle could say nothing mean enough of the party leader. 



POLITICAL REVOLUTIONS 265 

body and contained some of the state's brightest 
minds. The lawyers (56) and the farmers (36) 
outnumbered those of all other occupations or 
professions. Among the working men the trades 
were well represented, there being one or more 
each of carpenters, plumbers, printers, cooks, tail- 
ors, gas fitters, butchers, etc. The president of 
the convention was Judge Joseph P. Hodge, a 
very able man and one well qualified to preside 
by forty years' experience as a lawyer. When 
we consider the circumstances, the constitution 
as adopted was a fairly good one. It was not 
framed by cool headed, reasonable, well qualified 
minds, but by a body of men, one-half of whom 
excited, strongly prejudiced and hating with a 
bitter hatred the very things upon which they 
were to legislate. In the beginning the most 
rabid Chinese haters, anti-monopolists and anti- 
railroad men tried to capture the convention. In 
this movement they were led by David S. Terry, 
who had been elected on the non-partisan ticket 
(12). The new constitution was ratified by the 
voters May 7, 1879, by the following vote, 77,598- 
67,134. The farming communities favored it, 
while the stock and mining counties were about 
equally divided. San Francisco, Alameda, Sacra- 
mento and Santa Clara opposed it. And San 



(11) It was fortunate that the two old parties united. 
As an illustration of incompetency, take Kearney's San 
Francisco nominees. Nineteen of the delegates were 
foreign born, and fifteen were non-taxpayers. Notwith- 
standing the poor quality of the San Francisco dele- 
gates, they carried that city. In the convention there 
were 51 working men. 81 non-partisans, 11 Republicans, 
7 Democrats and 2 Independents. 

(12) It has always been a mystery, even to his inti- 
mate friends, why David S. Terry deserted his friends 
and went over to the enemy. The only reason that can 
be assigned was his hatred for corporations and his 
desire to again sit upon the Supreme bench. As a 
leader on the working man's measures he believed he 
could command their votes. After the close of the con- 
vention lie united with the new constitution party and 
in their convention he was placed in nomination for 

'Justice of the Supreme Court. The spirit of Broderick, 
however, arose to confront him and during the heated 
debate his name was withdrawn. 



266 MEN AXD EVENTS 

Joaquin, Sonoma and Los Angeles counties gave 
majorities for it. 

As the constitutional con\-ention was called 
principally by those opposed to the wealthy class 
and tiie Chinese, strong measures were adopted 
regarding them. The right of citizenship was 
denied the Chinese (13). No Chinese could be 
employed on public work. They also asserted 
that no corporation could employ them. This 
was a blow at the railroads. The Supreme Court 
quickly settled that question, they declaring 
that the Legislature had the right to regulate 
corjjorations ; they made the railroads common 
carriers. They created a board of railroad com- 
missioners with full power to regulate freights 
and fares. In order that they might tax the rich 
for full value, every taxpayer must swear to the 
value of his property at 12 o'clock meridian, 
March 1st of each year. Land and improvements 
were separately taxed. The holding of large 
acreages over 1,000 acres was discouraged. They 
also opposed women's suffrage, but after much 
labor, Clara Foltz and Mrs. Laura de Force Gor- 
don succeeded in having introduced and passed 
a section that no person on account of sex should 
be disqualitied from carrying on any lawful busi- 
ness, profession or vocation. 



(13) The state constitution adopted in 1880 settled 
the (luestion, for it declared a Mongolian was ineligible 
to citizenship; nevertheless in 1896 over 500 Chinese, 
native born, registered and as citizens voted at the state 
election. 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARNEYISM. 
CHAPTER XVn. 

In the Legislature of 1913 an event took place 
without a precedent in American history. Wil- 
liam Jennings Bryan, the Secretary of State 
(April 28th), sat with the presiding officer in 
the Senate. During the session he spoke upon 
the Japanese question. He came direct from 
President Wilson at Washington to prevent, if 
possil:)le. the enactment of an anti-alien land 
law (1). 

It was the old, old question which has ap- 
peared in every party platform and been threshed 
out in many Legislatures since that time when 
Governor Bigler sounded the alarm against Mon- 
golian immigration. At first the pioneers not 
only encouraged, but they petted the "little 
brown man," as they called him. In the Admis- 
sion day celebration of 1850 they took part, and 
the "China boys" were one of the features of 
the procession. 

In 1846 the Chinaman first made his api:)ear- 
ance (2). In 1852 they began arriving in large 
numbers. Thousands of them went to the mines 
to dig gold. It was feared that they would get 
all of the nuggets. Then the Legislature began 



(1) This law declared in effect that aliens ineligible 
to citizenship shall not hold land nor leases longer than 
one year. Bryan succeeded only in causing the Legis- 
lature to change the wording of the law. And thej' 
enacted and passed the law (May 3rd), which was 
signed by Governor Johnson, in effect that aliens 
ineligible to citizenship may not hold land. 

(2) In that year they came as cooks on board mer- 
chant vessels. In 1848 on board the Bark Eagle two 
Chinamen and a Chinawoman arrived from Hongkong. 
In 1850, 787 Chinese arrived, this including two women, 
and in 1852, 4,000 immigrants landed at San Francisco. 
The pioneers believed that the entire population, 400,- 
000.000, were coming. The agitation at that time, how- 
ever, decreased the immigration until 1870. 

267 



268 MF.X A XL) INVENTS 

taxing the Chinese (3), but they continued 
mining. In San Francisco they opened restau- 
rants and stores containing fine Chinese goods. 
The merchant was a novelty, his goods were alscj 
a novelty and the miners, investing thousands 
of dollars in China toys, silks, satins and various 
fancy articles, sent them by Adams Express to 
children, wives and sweethearts in the east. 
Two years later the cry went up against the 
Chinese and for a few years the immigration 
l)ractically ceased (4). 

From the organization of the state the mercan- 
tile interests had been desirous of opening up a 
trade with the Orient. They believed with John 
C. Calhoun that "a vast market will be created 
and a mighty impulse will be given to com- 
merce" (5). Every Legislature had petitioned 
Congress to subsidize a line of steamers from 
San Francisco to China. Senator Cole intro- 
duced a bill into Congress which was passed, and 
the Oriental Steamship Company was organized. 
The steamer Colorado was especially fitted up 
for the initial voyage. She was advertised to sail 
January 1, 1866 (6). On the morning of her 
departure the hills were black with people and 
an immense crowd surged upon the wharf. Amid 



C3) The counties in whicli the tax was collected 
received quite a revenue from that source. In fact, it 
saved them several times from bankruptcy. After a 
time they learned that the Chinese miner was a benefit. 
Me was content with small earning. Working the 
ground considered worthless by the white men, he 
obtained gold which never would have been put in 
circulation. 

(4) The Chinese immigration during these trouble- 
some times was somewhat alarming, as it comprised 
men only. Very few Chinese women have ever come 
to California. Hence I compare the Chinese immigra- 
tion with the voting or male population of 1860: Voters 
119,86K, Chinese 44,000; 1870, 120.101 -49.310; 1880, 164,- 
397 - 75,025. 

(5) Speech in 1845 on the Oregon question. 

(6) In honor of the occasion the merchants enjoj'ed 
a ban(|uct New Y'ear's eve in the Lick house. Governor 
Low ])resided, and in his speech he asked. "Who can 
foretell all the intimate results of commercial relations 
between these two countries (China and Japan) during 
the next ten. twcntv or fiftv vcars?"' 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARXEYISM 269 

the cheers of thousands and salutes from Alca- 
traz and Yerba Buena islands the Colorado 
passed out the Golden Gate. 

While the merchants and the capitalists were 
congratulating each other upon the great benefits 
to be derived from this enterprise, the middle 
and the poor class saw only misery and starva- 
tion for them. This enterprise would cause a 
large immigration of Chinese. This meant cheap 
labor and gloomy were the prospects. At this 
time a contractor was engaged in filling up the 
low lands now occupied by the railroad offices, 
Fourth and Townsend streets. Before the return 
of the Colorado he discharged his Irish laborers, 
and he employed Chinese, paying them sixty-two 
and one-half cents a day, only one-half the former 
rate. This aroused bad blood and a party of 
nearly three hundred hoodlums attacked the 
Chinese with stones, bricks and clubs. The fore- 
man of the gang was knocked senseless. The 
fifteen yellow men were beaten and badly bruised, 
the crowd shouting, ''Kill them ! kill them !" One 
Chinaman was killed. The Mongolians then fled 
and the toughs then set on fire the Chinese 
shanties, destroying them. "Now clean out the 
rope walks," they yelled, and running to Hunter's 
point, where another gang of Chinamen were 
employed, they fired the buildings. The China- 
men fled to the hills. Twelve of the rioters were 
imprisoned by Judge Rix. 

The increasing hatred of the Chinese by the 
working men led to the organization of anti- 
coolie clubs. Their first meeting was held in 
San Francisco, February 20, 1867. It was ad- 
dressed by Zachariah Montgomery. During this 
meeting the boycott movement was started. 
They resolved "that we will not patronize any 
person who will in any manner encourage or 
employ Chinese labor." A similar meeting was 
held in Sacramento February 26th and among 
the speakers was ex-Governor Bigler, father of 
the anti-Chinese movement. In the metropolis 
a second large meeting was held March 7th, 
which was very exciting. An effort was made to 
break it up, as the president, J. J. Ayers, intro- 
duced resolutions denouncing the Central Pacific. 



270 MEN AND EVENTS 

The company employed Chinese. He might have 
denounced with greater propriety the Oriental 
Steamship Company. They were the first cor- 
poration to hire Chinese labor (7). 

The policy of the steamship company in hiring 
cheap Chinese labor was adopted by the capitalist 
and middle class. They began to employ them 
as cooks and house servants, and before the con- 
dition of afifairs was generally known the China- 
men had crowded out of employment hundreds 
of white men and girls. 

The manufacturers of San Francisco, finding 
"John" a good imitator and keen to learn a trade, 
thought it a bright idea to teach him to make 
cigars, clothing, boots and shoes, etc. As soon as 
he had mastered the trade he began business on 
his own account. He could sell the same class of 
goods much cheaper than his former employer, 
and the white merchant lost trade. The poor 
crowded from work by the Chinese now began 
purchasing Chinese-made goods. Then capital 
and labor adopted the same slogan, "The Chinese 
must go," and both demanded legislative and 
congressional action. 

Anti-coolie clubs were now organized to stop, 
if possible, the sale of Chinese-made goods. Each 
member was pledged to neither patronize a 
Chinaman nor l3uy of those merchants who sold 
Chinese-made goods. Then the union adopted a 
stamp, "white man goods," and all white manu- 
factured clothing w^as supposed to bear the union 
stamp. The stamped goods were higher in price. 
Many dealers refused to handle union stock. 
Then the unions adopted the boycott system. 
Men paraded in front of the stubborn merchant's 
door bearing a placard "all honorable men boy- 
cott this man." The merchant, protesting, had 
the parader arrested. The Supreme Court de- 
clared it contrary to all civil law in a free govern- 
ment to compel any merchant to deal with cer- 
tain parties onlw 

(7) In January, 1867, discharging the white rireiiien 
on the Great Republic, they hired Chinese. Tlien the 
white sailors were "fired" and at lower wages John 
Chinaman became a sailor boy to plow the deep 
I)lue sea. 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARNEYISM 271 

At least seven-eighths of the Chinese popula- 
tion of the state lived in San Francisco and as 
they encroached rapidly upon the trades, efforts 
were made to drive them out by prohibitory ordi- 
nances (8). The Supreme Court, however, de- 
clared them unconstitutional. One plan would 
have been effective, to refuse them all work and 
patronize none but white men. But it was then 
learned that it was almost impossible to get 
along without them. They had displaced un- 
skilled white labor and now the white labor 
refused to perform the menial work of the 
Chinese. They had created new industries, laun- 
dry work and vegetable peddling from door to 
door. They worked cheaply and sold at small 
profits. The whites would not undertake the 
work. 

The Chinese, notwithstanding their indus- 
trious habits, peaceful dispositions and frugal 
manners, have been a moral leper upon the body 
politic. They introduced the habit of opium 
smoking, to which thousands of whites became 
slaves and human wrecks. They brought filth 
and disease. They crowded out the young man 
and woman from the unskilled work of the manu- 
factory and home, and finally the young became 
impressed with the idea that such work was de- 
grading. A common expression was, when asked 
to do certain menial work, "Do you take me for 
a Chinaman?" As a result, hundreds of young 
men became what was then known as "hood- 
lums." 



(8) One of the ordinances prohibited the Chinese 
laundrymen from carrying on business in wood struc- 
tures. Another ordinance prohibited the Chinese laun- 
drymen from continuing business after 10 o'clock at 
night. To save expense they worked daj' and night 
with two shifts of men. Another law compelled the 
laundrymen and vegetable peddlers to pay an unreason- 
able license. Street rag pickers and Chinese vegetable 
peddlers were prohibited from walking upon the side- 
walks with their baskets. Then they passed the "cubic 
air ordinance." Then followed an ordinance prohibit- 
ing the shipment of the bones of deceased Chinamen 
to China. As I have stated, all of these ordinances and 
many more not enumerated were declared unconstitu- 
tional. The prohibition of gambling and opium smok- 
ing stood the test of the Supreme Court. 



272 MEN AXD EVENTS 

The year 1877 was a hard year. Money was 
scarce and all kinds of lousiness slow and lifeless. 
There was much suffering in San Francisco, and 
the labor agitators attributed the cause to the 
presence of the Chinese, corporations and mo- 
nopolies. The twenty-one labor unions then in 
existence in the bay city began a crusade. 
.Vmong other demands, they demanded the ex- 
pulsion of the Mongolian, the reduction of labor 
to eight hours a day, the increase of wages, and 
the limitation of apprentices in foundry and 
shop. They imported from the east a noted 
labor agitator named James de Arcy, and July 
23rd nearly 6,000 men assembled upon the "sand 
lot" (9) to listen to De Arcy upon the labor 
question. At the close of his speech resolutions 
were passed denouncing in fiery language the 
"granting of subsidies and the grabbing of public 
lands." They regretted also "the use of force 
and riotous incendiary action but * * * all 
other resources failing, physical force and reso- 
lutions are not only justifial:)le but patriotic and 
commendable." 

Much to their surprise, perhaps, the band of 
hoodlums immediately put the agitator's resolu- 
tions into practice. Running down the street 
they cried "On to Chinatown." They stoned 
Chinamen as they ran, smashed the doors and 
windows of Chinese wash houses, and setting 
fire to one building, it was destroyed, as the 
toughs cut the fire hose as fast as laid. 

The following day, as a few hundred hoodlums 
had threatened to burn the city, the people of 
San Francisco were very much excited. The 
mayor issued a proclamation against riotous 
conduct and Archbishop Alcmany published a 
caution (10). No disturbance occurred on that 



(9) This now historic spot was a large open space 
near the corner of Market and McAllister streets. 

(10) Mayor Bryant published a proclamation declar- 
ing "any attempt to incite a riot will be crushed, as the 
law is supreme and must be maintained at all hazards." 
.\rchbishop Alemany published a caution to the faith- 
ful, saying to all persons, Catholics in particular, "In- 
juries are often hard to bear, but to seek redress by 
joining the wild fury of the rioters is most criminal, 
for the remedy lies not in the wild track of anarchy." 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARNEYISM 273 

day. On the evening of the 25th, however, an 
immense mob gathered at the corner of Fifth 
and Mission streets ; a large extra poHce force 
had been sworn in, but they were unable to dis- 
perse the crowd. Finally, 200 rioters breaking 
away started for the woolen mills, where Chinese 
were employed, threatening to burn it. They 
set fire to several v/ash houses. The mill, how- 
ever, was protected by a strong guard. While 
these acts were in progress another laundry far 
distant was attacked by fifteen rioters. They 
fired several shots into the building. The in- 
mates fled. The hoodlums then robbed and set 
fire to the house, burning to death a Chinaman. 

Finally the citizens awoke from their slumber. 
A committee of "public safety" was organized. 
Their leader was Wm. T. Coleman, who was the 
leader of the vigilance committee of 1856. In 
his short and pointed speech to his men he said. 
"Use your clubs on the heads of your oppo- 
nents." That evening while they were organiz- 
ing into companies, word came in from Chief of 
Police Ellis for one hundred men. Immediately 
one hundred men, under the command of H. A. 
Cobb, and armed with short clubs and pick 
handles, hurried to Beale street. A fire was 
there raging, started by the rioters. They ex- 
pected it would spread across the street and 
destroy the dock of the Pacific Mail Company. 
In every manner possible the rioters had been 
obstructing the work of the firemen. 

They cut the hose and from the high bluft 
threw stones at the fire workers. The Cobb 
brigade charged up the blufit and using freely 
their clubs routed the hoodlums. Again rally- 
ing, they shouted, "Charge the cops." During 
the skirmish several shots were fired. A police 
volunteer was shot and died the following day. 
Several of the rioters were arrested. Near 
Lotta's fountain their companions tried to release 
them. Again the pick handles and clubs were 
freely used. In their haste to escape the fugi- 
tives ran into saloons, and broke in doors and 
windows of private houses. For over an hour 
the fight was on ; the rioters then had enough. 



274 ^rr.X \XD EVENTS 

Any further disturl^ances would have been 
serious, as the authorities had concluded to have 
no more boys' play. The mob would have been 
saluted with ball and cartridge. On the third 
day (July 27th) in all of the newspapers the 
mayor warned all parents to keep their boys 
under age ofif the streets, "as more vigorous 
means will be employed to suppress riotous pro- 
ceedings." All the armories were strongly 
guarded. Sentinels paced the streets, and no 
traveling along the street was permitted after 10 
o'clock. The Pensacola and the Lancaster 
steamed from Marc island and anchored near 
the city front. Their sailors and marines could 
l)e landed at short notice. For the use of the 
committee 4,000 stand of arms had been brought 
from Benicia, and 6,000 men well armed would 
have met the rioters. The Chinese, the innocent 
cause of all the trouble, dared not venture on 
the streets. Their doors and windows were 
heavily barred and they had purchased large 
quantities of arms and ammunition, ready to 
fight to the death if attacked. The preparations 
for war completely subdued the hoodlum class. 

The hoodlums had had their da}'. There arose, 
howc\-er, in the fall of 1877 another apparently 
dangerous class. They shouted for social re- 
forms and "Drive out the Chinese." Meetings 
were held upon the sand lot Sunday afternoons. 
The laboring class was then at leisure and at 
times from 5,000 to 10,000 persons would assem- 
ble and listen to and applaud the speeches of the 
incendiary agitators. The meetings were first 
.started by Dr. C. C. O'Donnell (11). He was, 
however, soon superceded in popular favor by 
the Irish teamster, Dennis Kearney (12). His 

(11 ) Dr. C. C. O'Donnell was one of the disreputable 
phy.sicians of San Francisco. Seeking notoriety and 
office, lie shouted "the Chinese must go." Running on 
an independent ticket for Mayor, he declared that it 
elected he would run the Chinese out of San Francisco 
within twenty-four hours. 

(12) Dennis Kearney was born in Ireland in 1847. 
He followed the sea as sailor boj' and officer, and in 
1867 he landed at San Francisco as lirst officer of the 
clipper ship Shooting Star. In 1870 he married. Two 
years later he engaged in the draying business and 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARNEYISAI 275 

speeches at times were infamous and calculated 
to incite anarchy (13). November 3rd, under 
the Gibbs act, passed by the supervisors to meet 
his case, he was arrested for using incendiary 
language. The political influence and power of 
the laboring men was strong; in a few days 
Kearney was given his liberty. In honor of 
Kearney's freedom, the working men Thanksgiv- 
ing day held a monster parade. Every trade in 
San Francisco was represented. Over 7,000 me- 
chanics, bearing emblems, banners, mottoes and 
hundreds of American flags, marched the streets. 
They broke rank at the sand lot and the demon- 
stration ended with music, a poem and an 
oration. 

Kearney continued his tirade against the city 
and county officials, not forgetting the Chinese. 
In the meeting of January 16, 1878, Kearney 
shouted, "Are you ready to march down to the 
wharf and stop the leperous Chinese from land- 



made big money. The merchants boycotted him after 
he became a sand lot orator and he was obliged to sell 
his business at a heavy loss. After the Chinese crusade 
he engaged in stock mining and became wealthy. In 
the '90's his uncle died and Dennis was left a fortune 
in Fresno property. Kearnej^'s entrance into stock 
deals made a complete change in the man. Wells 
Drury said in 1899, describing him, "The canvas overalls 
and jumper had disappeared. Gone was the drayman's 
leather apron, fastened by copper rivets. Before me 
was the Dennis Kearney of today, the prosperous specu- 
lator in wheat, sugar and oil. His powerful hands are 
no longer knotted and clenched, but white and soft. 
The chin no longer protrudes, and the jaw has less of 
the appearance of aggressive prominence." "Watching 
the wheat game is harder work than excluding the 
Chinese," said Kearney. He died in Alameda April 29, 
1907. His beautiful home was destroyed in the San 
Francisco fire. 

(13) In one of his speeches Kearney declared San 
Francisco would meet with the fate of Moscow if the 
condition of the laboring classes was not changed. In 
liis December speech he denounced the rich and de- 
clared that "Judge Lynch is the judge wanted by the 
working man. I advise you all to own a musket and 
a hundred rounds of ammunition." On one occasion 
in his tirade against the Legislature he shouted, "If 
the members ever step over the line of decency, then 
I say hemp, hemp, hemp, that is the battle cry of free- 
dom." 



276 MEX AND EVENTS 

ing?" With a yell his auditors shouted "Yes." 
The next day Kearney was arrested. At this 
time several of the clubs had been engaged in 
military drills. One company of eighty men was 
well armed. The authorities, anticipating trouble 
over Kearney's imprisonment, called out the Na- 
tional Guard. Two warships about the same 
time anchored off the water front. Kearney had 
threatened to blow up the Pacific Mail steamers' 
dock if any more Chinese were landed. 

The Legislature was then in session at Sacra- 
mento and the San Francisco supervisors, in 
secret session, appointed a committee to visit 
the capital and seek protection. As a result the 
Legislature, under a suspension of rules, imme- 
diately passed the "Murphy riot act," which pro- 
hibited the gathering of doubtful assemblies or 
the delivering of incendiary speeches. Kearney 
was tried by jury and acquitted. Then he invited 
the Legislature to come to San Francisco and 
hear him speak. A joint committee was appoint- 
ed from both houses and they visited San Fran- 
cisco. They attended the meeting of February 
2nd. The assembly was as quiet and orderly 
as at a church service and Kearney's speech was 
as free from slander as a minister's sermon. That 
committee, with political aspirations in view, re- 
ported to the Legislature that the working men 
had not committed any overt act, the passage of 
the riot act was ill timed and should be repealed, 
and that the police had used unwarranted rough- 
ness in dispersing meetings. 

The fiip-tlop of the San Francisco Chronicle 
(14) at this time was quite amusing. Charles de 
Young, the managing editor of the Chronicle. 



(14) The De Young brothers, Charles. Michael H. 
and Gustavus, were l)orn in San Francisco. Tliey were 
newsboys and January 16, 1865, Charles de Young 
started a little four-page paper called the Dramatic 
Clironicle. In September, 1866, Mike de Young became 
a partner in the Chronicle. They soon had a large 
circulation, and in September, 1868, they began selling 
their paper by subscription at twelve and one-half cents 
a week. In 1890 the Chronicle proprietors erected the 
first steel building in California, at their present loca- 
tion in San Francisco, corner of Market and Kearney 
streets. 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARXEYISM 277 

seemed to liave been impressed with the idea 
that it was his mission to give the state a new 
constitution. As the Republicans failed to en- 
thuse over his idea, he deserted the party and 
tried to enter the Democratic fold. They had 
no use for him or his "harlot newspaper," as one 
delegate called it, and De Young then turned to 
the working men. They accepted his services, 
but they refused to desert their leader, Kearney, 
or permit the Chronicle to dictate their policy. 
This angered De Young. Again changing his 
colors, he began his abuse of Kearney. 

At this time a San Francisco Baptist minister 
named Isaac C. Kalloch began attracting con- 
siderable attention, not only by reason of his 
ability as a speaker, but because of his views 
regarding the working men (15). From his 
])reludes the working men soon learned that in 
the Baptist divine they had an able friend and 
advocate, one who would not decline a seat in 
the United States Senate. There he would cham- 
pion the cause of the poor. Learning that as a 
stepping stone to that high office Kalloch would 
accept the nomination of mayor of San Francisco, 
June 7, 1879, the working men unanimously 
nominated him for mayor. The Chronicle now 
began firing its vitriolic poison upon Kalloch. 
They endeavored by persuasion, intimidation 
and threats to compel him to decline the nomina- 
tion. Finally De Young sent an agent to demand 
the pastor's non-acceptance. Kalloch refused to 
surrender. The agent then informed the pastor 
that De Young "had the ammunition in the 



(15) The reverend gentleman arrived in San Fran- 
cisco from Kansas early in the '70's to take charge of 
the Second and Fourth Baptist Consolidated churches. 
A circular structure known as the Metropolitan temple 
was erected for him, and he drew each Sunday an 
immense audience, averaging an attendance of 5,000. 
He was a man of medium size, heavy built, florid com- 
plexion, sandy hair and whiskers. He had a loud, clear, 
pleasing tone of voice, and was eloquent and convinc- 
ing in his remarks. It was his custom each Sunday 
evening in a prelude before his sermon to discuss the 
political questions of the day, both state and local. He 
swayed his audience at his w^ill and ofttimes referred to 
events in verj- plain language. 



278 MEN AND EVENTS 

pigeon hole of the Chronicle office to destroy 
him, both as a politician and as a preacher" (16). 
Kalloch sent his compliments to Mr. De Young 
and told him "to go to hell." The following day 
the Chronicle began a series of the most abusive 
tirades ever seen in print. Kalloch paid no atten- 
tion to themuntil an editorial appeared reflecting 
upon the honor of his deceased father. It was 
a cowardly calumny, written for the express pur- 
pose of arousing Kalloch. De Young had finally 
succeeded in his object. It aroused the lion-like 
wrath of the pastor and in his memorable speech 
August 23, 1879, he most unmercifulh' scored 
the Chronicle proprietors (17). 

Smarting under the minister's stinging rebuke, 
Charles de Young resolved to kill Kalloch. The 
day of duelling was passed, so he resorted to a 
more cowardly method of disposing of his an- 
tagonist. Armed with a large sized Colt's re- 
volver, De Young rapidly rode to the temple in 
a closed coupe, a messenger boy by his side. 
Upon his arrival at the temple, side entrance, 
Kalloch was just leaving his study. De Young 
said to the boy, "Do you see that gentleman with 
a duster on? Tell him that a lady wishes to see 
him." The messenger obeyed. As Kalloch 
attempted to open the door of the coupe, De 
Young fired. The ball struck the pastor two 
inches below the heart. Kalloch staggered back- 



(16) Charles de Young sent a special agent east to 
learn of Kalloch's licentious record in his j'ounger days. 

(17) During his speech he declared, "It is not neces- 
sar}^ tonight * * * to discuss the defiled organ, the 
bawdy house breeding, the gutter snipe training of 
social pariahs who vainly struggle for the recognition 
which decent societies deny them, and who by a per- 
sistent and damnable system of blackmailing have built 
up a newspaper, which in its every issue is a moral vol- 
cano * * * J.Q (-,11 ^\■^Q surrounding atmosphere with 
poison. If the devil in hell has an organ on earth, it 
is the San Francisco Chronicle." Closing his speech, 
he left the hall and addressed another large crowd 
outside. He there referred to the slanderous attacks 
by "miscreants" upon his deceased father. He then 
described the lives of the two men and asserted that 
they were the sons "of a harlot." The words created 
a wild sensation. The crowd expected to see Kalloch 
killed by De Young, for he had so threatened. 



THE CHINESE VS. KEARXEYISAI 279 

ward and the murderer, springing from his seat 
to the ground, again tired, shooting Kalloch 
through the thigh. De Young then attempted 
to enter the coupe and escape, l)ut he was quickly 
seized by citizens. In the struggle the coupe 
was overturned. The newspaper proprietor was 
kicked and trampled by the angry crowd and 
finally rescued by a policeman and taken to jail 
(18). Kalloch, although pronounced mortally 
wounded, recovered and acceptably filled the 
office of mayor, to which he was elected while 
recovering from his wounds. Charles de Young 
remained in jail until September 1st, awaiting 
Kalloch's recovery. He was then released on 
$25,000 bail. This ended that affair. The 
tragedy came later. 

Charles de Young, failing to kill Kalloch, still 
continued his newspaper tirades, until the best 
and most conservative class began to think that 
patience might cease to be a virtue. Kalloch's 
son. then a young man of perhaps thirty years 
of age, silently stood the abuse heaped upon his 
father until he saw in circulation the sixty-page 
pamphlet. "The Life and History of Isaac M. 
Kalloch" (19). The mother of young Kalloch 
was also suffering under the terrible hounding 
of the Chronicle. Arming himself with a Colt's 
revolver about dark April 23. 1880, young Kal- 
loch in passing the Chronicle building observed 
his victim in the office. Pushing back the swing- 
ing door, Kalloch entered and quickly fired three 
shots at De Young. He missed him every shot. 
De Young then ran behind the counter and stood 
over as if to get a weapon. Kalloch, then reach- 



(18) That afternoon the Kearneyites held a very 
excited meeting. One of the speakers declared, "It is 
not the Chinese now, we are after De Young's blood." 
Said another speaker, "The Chinese must go, and we 
demand that the De Youngs must go." "Hang them, 
hang them," cried the mob. 

(19) This pamphlet claimed to give the life history 
of I. M. Kalloch, and it brought out in detail the adul- 
terous acts of the pastor in his former homes in Massa- 
chusetts and Kansas. As it was known that De Young 
had sent an agent east to look up the minister's record, 
the son believed him responsible for the publication of 
the book. 



280 MEX AXD EVENTS 

ing across the counter, again fired. The ball 
entered De Young's mouth and brain, killing 
him instantly. Kalloch was at once arrested and 
taken to jail. 

There now occurred one of the most disgrace- 
ful scenes ever witnessed in San Francisco, the 
brutish acts of a howling mob. A large crowd 
gathered and they began laughing loudly, talking 
and even hooting. And the policemen were even 
compelled to beat them back with their clubs 
in order to clear the way for the morgue wagon. 
As the body was placed in the wagon, the mob 
began to hoot, yell and cheer, and following on 
to the morgue they continued these disgraceful 
actions. So bitter was their hatred for the dead 
the crowd lost control of all decent nature. It 
caused the better class of citizens to blush with 
shame, for although De Young had his faults, he 
also had his virtues (20). 

Kalloch, tried for the murder of Charles de 
Young, was defended by the pioneer criminal 
attorney, Henry E. Highton. The plea was 
self-defense. After considerable delay, a witness 
was found with "X-ray" sight. While passing 
the Chronicle office at the moment of the shoot- 
ing, looking through French plate glass figured 
windows, he saw De Young fire the first shot. 
Kalloch was acquitted. But the witness Clem- 
shaw was sent to state's prison for perjury. 



(20) Charles de Young was the head and brains of 
the Chronicle, and he placed it in the front rank of 
journalism. At heart he was a man generous and 
genial: and strong in his likes and dislikes, he was 
both feared and loved. A full sized marble statue 
erected bj' his brother now marks liis grave in the 
I. O. O. F. cemetery. 



THE AGE OF RAILROADS. 

CHAl'TER XX'TII. 

The building of this overland railroad was the 
greatest enterprise in the nation's history of that 
period, and regardless of the "roast" criticisms 
and abuse that have been showered upon the 
four builders, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, 
Collis P. Huntington and Charles Crocker, they 
stand as among the state's greatest benefactors 
and they are entitled to high praise (1). 

For many years the people of California 
had been talking of a railroad across the 
Sierras. Some said that it could be built, some 
that it was an impossibility. William M .Gwin 
introduced the subject to Congress in 1854. 



(1) Collis P. Huntington, the financier of the Cen- 
tral Pacific, was born in New York October 22, 1821. 
His father was a wool merchant. Huntington at the age 
of twenty-two engaged in general merchandising. In 
1849 he came to California and opened a store of hard- 
ware and miners' supplies in Sacramento. In 1855 he 
took in as his partner Mark Hopkins, and this part- 
nership continued until Hopkins' death in March, 1878. 

Charles Crocker was another New Yorker, born Sep- 
tember 16, 1822. At ten years of age he began working, 
as his parents were very poor. He worked upon a farm, 
in a sawmill, and in a forge and mastered the trade. 
Coming to California in 1850, two years later he en- 
gaged in the dry goods business in the capital city. 

Mark Hopkins, the oldest of the four railroad kings, 
was also born in New York, September 1, 1813. He was 
clerking at the age of si.xteen, studying law eight years 
later, and landed in San Francisco in August, 1849. A 
few months later he reached Sacramento, and loading 
an ox team with groceries, traveled to Placerville and 
opened a general merchandising store. 

Leland Stanford we have already noticed in another 
part of this work. 

These four men in Huntington's store on K street 
listened attentively to an engineer and survej^or, Theo- 
dore D. Judah. while he explained to them the prac- 
ticability, the importance and the possibilities of an 
overland railroad across the Sierras. 

These men believed such a railroad possible, and 
with a combined capital of only $200,000 they had the 

281 



282 MEN AND EVENTS 

He proposed a southern line (where now runs 
the Santa Fe), its w^estern terminus San Diego. 
Then came sectional jealousy and the northern 
Congressmen fought for a northern line, over the 
Lewis and Clark survey of 1804, now the James 
Hill road, ending in Oregon. Then came the 
Civil war and the northern men at once saw the 
helpless condition of the Pacific coast. They 
saw that an overland railroad was a necessity, 
a war measure, for the transportation of troops. 
A central overland bill w^as introduced by Sena- 
tor James A. McDougall, granting money and 
lands to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific 
railroads. The bill passed both houses and July 
1, 1862, it was signed by Abraham Lincoln (2). 
It need not be stated that there was much 
preliminar}- work before even this much was 



nerve to attempt to carry out an enterprise that would 
cost millions of dollars and several years of hard work. 

With the highest confidence in T. D. Judah they 
organized the Central Pacific Railroad Company. Then 
Huntington and Judah visited Congress and succeeded 
with others in having passed the overland railroad bill. 
Then came the work of construction. They were com- 
pelled to employ cheap labor. And as labor on this 
coast was scarce and high priced, agents were sent 
to China to import coolie laborers. They posted 
notices in the two Chinese ports of emigration. Canton 
and Hongkong, that the Central Pacific railroad wanted 
laborers. They would be given free passage to Cali- 
fornia and $25.00 per month. These coolies did nothing 
but pick and shovel work. I understand 6,000 were 
employed. Then there were the forests to cut, ties to 
make, bridges, sheds and buildings to erect, rock to 
blast and cars and locomotives to build, and this gave 
work to an army of mechanics and white laborers. In 
the Sierras alone, to say nothing of shop work, over 
9,000 white men were employed for three years in vari- 
ous occupations. In their blasting over five hundred 
kegs of powder were used daily. The company was 
compelled to ship all of their material from the east 
by ship and the freight on ten locomotives cost $20,000, 
the engines themselves costing $19,000 apiece. 

(2) When the news arrived of the signing of the 
bill, California was celebrating our national day. About 
noon at Stockton the citizens were on parade. One of 
the citizens, turning to a second, inquired, "What's 
the bells ringing for?" Soon he learned, as down the 
street tlie newsboys ran shouting, "Extra, extra, sign- 
ing of the Pacific railroad l)ill." 



i^l^S%s 




The Stage Coach and Prairie Schooner. The Pioneer Way of 
Transporting Freight and Passengers. 



284 MEN AND EVENTS 

accomplished. It was necessary to interest the 
people that they would be willing to bond the 
counties through which ran the road. In Cali- 
fornia in 1860 a Pacific railroad convention was 
held. Nearly all of the counties in the state sent 
their delegates. The attention of the convention 
was called to the fact that, in case of civil war, 
the state was in a dangerous position both from 
civil and foreign foes. They were reminded that 
commerce and trade were greatly retarded be- 
cause of the long delay in shipping goods from 
the east. Then there was the China and Japan 
trade which might be controlled through an 
overland road. The resolutions were unani- 
mously ado])ted advocating the Pacific railroad. 
The Central Pacific was then organized in June, 
1861, and the directors employed fine speakers 
to travel over the state advocating the issuing 
of bonds. The scheme was well planned and 
soon the people went wild over the railroad ques- 
tions and the issuing of bonds (3). 

Governor Stanford at the end of his term of 
office gave his entire attention to the work of 
construction, and February 22, 1863, at the foot 
of K street, in the presence of the Legislature 
and a large crowd of citizens, the ex-Governor 
shoveled the first earth of the road. Speeches 



(3) The largest amount of bonds issued was in 
1863. In that year San Joaciuin count}' voted $250,000 
in l)onds to the Western Pacific and later $100,000 to 
the Stockton & Copi^eropolis. Tuolumne and Calaveras 
counties each gave $50,000 to the Copperopolis road. 
El Dorado gave $250,000 to the Sacramento & Placer- 
ville. Sacramento voted $300,000 in bonds to the Cen- 
tral Pacilic, taking" in payment 3,000 shares of stock, 
and I'lacer county gave $250,000 in l)onds provided the 
road ran tlirough the county to the state line by the 
waj' of Clipper Gap and Dutcii Flat. Tlie company 
ciianged the route, yet they tried to collect the bonds, 
and under the name of the Dutch Flat swindle over 
thirty years the litigations were in court. San Fran- 
cisco voted $1,000,000 in bonds to the Western and the 
Central Pacilic. The Legislature voted the Central 
Pacilic warrants calling for $200,000 at the completion 
of every twenty miles of road. The limit was lifty 
miles. The directors agreed to liaul free of cost all 
exhibits for the state fair, all convicts and public mes- 
sengers and all troops in time of war. 



286 MEX AND EVENTS 

were made by Charles Crocker, J. H. Warwick, 
the actor, and Leland Stanford. In his address 
Stanford predicted that in 1870 the road would 
be finished. In November, 1867, the road was 
in running order to the highest point of the 
Sierras, 105 miles, and 6,300 feet above sea level. 
An excursion train, bearing the officers, a half 
dozen editors and several ladies, was run to that 
point November 30th. 

In the winter of 1869 track la\ing was rapidly 
carried on by the Union and the Central Pacific, 
each company racing for the bonus given for 
extra road l^uilding. In May the Central Pacific 
were fast moving on Promontory point, and May 
10th was the day set for the driving of the last 
spike. A celebration was arranged for the grand 
event. Sacramento was the place selected. The 
telegraph lines had been arranged, so at the first 
blow of the hammer driving the spike the news 
would be telegraphed to all parts of the United 
States. From 5 in the morning until 10 o'clock 
thousands began assembling in Sacramento from 
Reno, Nevada ; Stockton and San Francisco. The 
twenty-one locomotives of the company were 
drawn up in line on the water front and as the 
signal was given the engineers opened wide their 
whistles. The noise of whistles, l^ells and cannon 
for a time drowned out all hufnan speech. There 
was an immense procession, an oration by Gov- 
ernor Haight, a poem and vocal and instrumental 
music. The day was also honored at San Fran- 
cisco bv a i)rocession, decorations, an oration and 
an illumination ; at Placerville and Yreka by bell 
ringing and illuminations, and at Stockton by 
])ells and a salute of thirty-eight guns. 

October 31st the Pacific railroad was com- 
pleted from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Two 
months earlier the roadbed was laid to Stockton 
and August 11th Sacramento and Stockton for 
the first time extended friendly greetings. An 
excursion had been planned and the Sacramento 
])ioneers became the guests oi the pioneers of 
the San Joaquin. About a fourth of the popula- 
tion of the cai)ital accompanied the pioneers, and 
about 11 o'clock a.m. forty-two cars, drawn by 
two locomoti\es, rounded the curve of the road 



THE AGE OF RAILROADS 287 

into Stockton. The firemen, pioneers, mayor and 
council and "the town" were in waiting to meet 
their Sacramento brethren and with music and 
flying banners they marched on the principal 
streets. Collations were spread for all of the 
visiting organizations and at 5 o'clock homeward 
they returned. 

In 1860 a miner named William Reed, while 
prospecting for gold in the Sierras east of Stock- 
ton, discovered copper. The mines were opened 
and an immense bed of copper ore was found. A 
railroad project was next started and in 1862 the 
Stockton & Copperopolis road was organized. 
It was believed that the freight of copper alone 
would ])ay all running expenses. San Joaquin 
county gave the company bonds to the amount 
of $100,000. The government granted sections 
of land on each side of the road. In December, 
1870, the citizens of Stockton were delighted 
when the first locomotive ran over a principal 
street to the water front (4). Ten miles of 
roadbed in good running order were laid. Then 
the bottom fell out of copper. 

The stockholders could not extend the road. 
It was then purchased b}^ the Central Pacific. 
To obtain the bonds and the land, they built the 
road thirt}^ miles to Milton. 

The Copperopolis line was the fourth railroad 
then running in California. The pioneer of the 
coast was the Sacramento & Folsom. It was 
built by the enterprising merchants of Sacra- 
mento to catch the trade of the miners of the 
southern mines. The twenty-two miles of road 
were completed in February, 1856, and February 
22nd a free excursion was given. The Legis- 
lators were invited. They were also given 
passes for themselves and families. The road 
was a paying proposition from the beginning, 
as over 8,000 tons of merchandise was weekly 

(4) Years later this street roadbed, over which ran 
tooting locomotives and long trains of freight cars, be- 
came an intolerable nuisance. There was no law, how- 
ever, that could prevent it. Finally the merchants gave 
the Central Pacific $10,000 to remove their track. They 
expected, sharp enough, to have the council grant them 
much better accommodations along the west end of 
the street. 



288 MEN AND EVENTS 

landed at the Sacramento wharf, consigned to 
the mining camps. 

The second railroad, known as the California 
Pacific, was projected from Sacramento to Val- 
lejo in 1857. County subsidies amounting to 
$120,000 were given to the road. Lack of money, 
however, retarded its progress. It was not com- 
pleted until 1869. Then a bitter fight took place 
between that road and the Central Pacific over 
the crossing. The Central Pacific had laid their 
line along the entire water front, and the Cali- 
fornia Pacific could not enter the city from the 
Yolo county side. Finally in April, 1871, the 
California Pacific, through its president, Milton 
S. Latham, sold out to the Central Pacific. 

The third railroad enterprise was the San Jose 
& San Francisco, which was chartered August 
16, 1860. The citizens of the counties were desir- 
ous of a railroad and the Legislature authorized 
the people to vote upon the issuing of $500,000 
in bonds to the stockholders (5). The contract 
to build the road was led to A. H. Houstan and 
Charles McLaughlin (6) and January 16, 1864, 



(5) On the question of bonds, San Mateo county 
voted yes 7,309, no 1,932; Santa Clara county, yes 1,467, 
no 735. Later by a large majority San Francisco county 
voted $600,000 in bonds. The common council refused 
to issue the bonds. When the Central Pacific obtained 
possession of the road they commenced suit against 
the city and won it. 

(6) Charles McLaughlin, who later became a mil- 
lionaire and one of the Central Pacitic's principal 
agents, was shot and killed December 13, 1883, by 
Jerome B. Cox, a sub-contractor who did thousands 
of doUars worth of work for McLaughlin, and he re- 
fused to pay Cox. Time and time again Cox obtained 
judgment in the courts, but new trials were granted 
the defendant. After nearly twenty years of worry and 
trouble. Cox entered McLaughlin's office on the day 
mentioned and demanded a settlement for the $40,000 
due him on past contracts. The men were alone. Out- 
siders, hearing three shots, rushed into the room. They 
found ]\IcLaughlin mortally wounded and dying. Cox 
declared that he shot in self-defense, as McLaughlin 
tried to stab him with a bowie knife. Cox was dis- 
charged in the preliminary examination. Public opinion 
justilicd Cox. After twenty-one years of litigation the 
courts gave Cox the money due. To honor the man, 
I^eptcmber 28, 1886, the united labor partj' made Cox 
their nominee for Governor. 



THE AGE OF RAILROADS 289 

the first train, an excursion, ran from San Fran- 
cisco to San Jose. The train was drawn by a 
locomotive built in San Francisco by H. J. Booth. 
In 1869 this road was extended to Gilroy. 

The first regular passenger train from the east 
arrived at Oakland November 8th. This was 
preceded some five weeks by an overland excur- 
sion train. It was chartered by the Sovereign 
Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F., assembling that year 
in San Francisco. The Grand Lodge at the state 
line were met by brothers from Sacramento, and 
tarrying in that city for a day, September 15th. 
they laid the cornerstone of the Odd Fellows' 
temple. Spending an hour with Nathan Porter, 
of Alameda, September 16th, they were then 
transported to San Francisco. There they were 
welcomed by the order in California and under 
the escort of the National Guard and a proces- 
sion of several thousand Odd Fellows they 
passed through the principal streets to the Cali- 
fornia theater, where several addresses were 
made. The next day they made an excursion 
around the bay and out upon the Pacific, and 
during their stay they were royally entertained 
by brethren and citizens. It was an important 
occasion, as they were the first national organiza- 
tion to visit California. Others were to follow, 
but many years intervened. 

Many years before the completion of the over- 
land, local lines were running and one of these 
lines ran from Oakland to Brooklyn, a distance 
of six miles. As Oakland lies upon the beach, 
to reach the ferryboat and deep water a wharf 
three-fourths of a mile was constructed. Trains 
were running over this line by September, 1863, 
and in April, 1865, Brooklyn was reached. Three 
years later (July 4, 1869) the first of those ter- 
rible accidents took place at the ferry landing. 
A large crowd from San Francisco visited the 
parade in Oakland. As the Oakland visitors 
were about to return to the metropolis by the 5 
o'clock boat, they met upon the apron the crowd 
from the bay city. Jamming and pushing, the 
weight was too heavy. The chains holding up 
the apron broke and over a hundred persons were 
thrown into the water. Two heroic Italians, 



290 MKX AXD EVENTS 

with others, jumped overboard to save Hfe, and 
although the Italians saved a dozen persons, they 
were drowned, together with twenty more. 

The most fickle guide to things right or wrong, 
just or unjust, is public opinion. For twenty 
years the people were clamoring for railroads. 
When the opportunit}- was offered they gave 
liberally of their money and time to railroad 
propositions. In less than ten years the people 
were as bitterly fighting the railroads as pre- 
viously they had been praising them. For this 
change of sentiment there were many causes, 
.^ome reasons were just, others unjust. The 
causes of complaint were all local, and the first 
came from Alameda county. That county gave 
bonds to the "Western Pacific," on condition 
that all of the money should be expended for 
road building in that county. The Western Pa- 
cific, unable to carry on the work, sold out to the 
Central Pacific. That company, building four 
Inmdred miles of roadbed, found it inadvisable 
to perform special work in Alameda county. 
They refused to deliver the bonds. The railroad 
commenced suit and for nearly forty 3^cars Ala- 
meda county was at enmity with the Central 
Pacific. 

I have not the space to enumerate onc-c[uartcr 
of the battles between the people and the rail- 
road. One only will I record, that of San Fran- 
cisco over the (ioat island terminus. The me- 
tropolis \'0ted bonds in large amounts, but when 
thev learned that Sacramento was to be the 
terminus of the Central Pacific the supervisors 
refused to issue the bonds. Later Stanford 
acquired the Western Pacific and the road was 
extended to Oakland. San Francisco was first 
jealous of the capital. Now she is jealous of 
Oakland, and fearing that Oakland would get all 
of the interior trade. San Francisco asked the 
Central Pacific to bridge the bay and run their 
trains into San Francisco. The company agreed 
to the prop<)siti(Mi, provided the metropolis \-oted 
the company bonds to the amount of ,$,\000,OCX) 
to build the ])ridge. The citizens voted the 
bonds. Again the supervisors held them uj). 
Then was begun a long contested lawsuit. 



THE AGE OF RAIEROADS 291 

Unable to quickly win the suit, and naturally 
irritated because of the fight, the Central Pacific 
now sought a permanent terminus of the road. 
Oakland proper was out of the question, as the 
low marsh lands prevented the docking of steam- 
ers either large or small. Compelled to make 
deep water their terminal jioint. the company 
petitioned the government for Goat island. Then 
arose the merchants of San Francisco as. one 
man and strongly protested. Searching dili- 
gently, they found engineers who asserted that 
the occupation of Goat island by a bridgeway 
would injure its military defense. And the 
Chamber of Commerce March, 1872. appointed a 
committee of one hundred to defeat the measure 
in Congress if possible. The government refused 
to permit the occupation of the island. 

Oakland was wise and some time previous 
(March 10, 1868) the Legislature, at the request 
of Oakland, granted the Central Pacific sub- 
merged and tide lands for depots and commer- 
cial facilities. The company at once took posses- 
sion of these lands, filling in a solid roadbed 
from Oakland to deep water. They constructed 
a depot of glass and iron and made further 
improvements amounting to millions of dollars. 
From that point ferryboats began running to San 
Francisco, steaming the four and one-half miles 
in fifteen minutes. 

Fifteen years passed ; the animosity against 
the railroad was greatly lessened and once more 
the Goat island subject came before the people. 
Now public sentiment favored the Central Pa- 
cific ; the citizens of the state and many in San 
Francisco said, "Let the railroad occupy the 
island." In March, 1893, the Legislature in joint 
session passed a resolution calling upon the Cali- 
fornia representatives in Congress to use all 
legitimate means to secure the passage of a bill 
ceding Goat island to California, that she might 
lease it to the Central Pacific and not a voice 
was raised in opposition. Again in 1895 the sub- 
ject was brought forth in the Senate, and now 
the state is willing that the railroad should oc- 
cupy Goat island. It is well adapted for a rail- 



292 MEN AND EVENTS 

road terminus and San Francisco could be 
reached by ferry in ten minutes. 

Completing the central division of the great 
overland railroad, the company in 1872 began 
building a railroad down the valley. It was their 
object to connect at Mohave with the Atchison 
& Topeka, then building westward from New 
Orleans. The Central Pacific, along their pro- 
posed route, demanded tribute of every farmer 
and of every town. If the farmer or the town 
refused to accede to their "hold-up," then the 
rancher was put to every possible inconvenience 
and new towns were founded in opposition to 
those already established (7). 

They began their Southern Pacific road at 
Lathrop, twelve miles south of Stockton. There 
they established a railroad center and built a 
fine large hotel. In the extension of the road 
the company in crossing the Tehachapi moun- 
tain performed a very remarkable piece of engi- 



(7) The farmer who gave the compain' the right ot 
way free of cost received as a compensation a siding 
or side track, or perhaps a flag station. Towns that 
put up money and gave the right of way were given 
depots and perhaps terminal privileges. If they refused, 
opposition towns were founded. A town was founded 
in ()p[)osition to Stockton and named Lathrop in honor 
of Stanford's wife, her maiden name. Jt was built 
to "cause the grass to grow in the streets of Stockton." 
Fortunately, the city had deep water communication 
with San Francisco bay. Modesto was founded and 
named Ralston. I'ecause of Wm. C. Ralston's modesty, 
he refused this honor. The name was then changed to 
Modesto, a Spanish word meaning modest. Then came 
the tight with Knights Ferry for the county seat. Rail- 
road money was freely used and Modesto won. 

Visalia with a population of 2,000 inhabitants was 
unable to pay the tribute. Then the railroad founded 
(joshen, six miles distant. Bakerslield was a large 
town. They wouldn't cough up and Sumner was started 
only two miles awa)' and the people of Hakerslield were 
compelled to walk to the new station. When the Santa 
I*e track was laid they ran to Visalia and Bakerslield, 
thus compelling the Southern Pacific to extend their 
lines. 

For nearly twenty-five years the state, or a large 
part of it, was antagonistic to the Southern Pacific. 
There were hundreds of reasons for tliis antagonism. 
I will take .Stockton to illustrate a few of these reasons. 
.Stanford asked for a right of way through a princi]);il 



THE AGE OF RAILROADS 293 

neering work (8). After several years of labor 
and at a heavy expense, the natural obstacles 
were surmounted and upon reaching the desert 
"Mohave" was founded. A branch road in Sep- 
tember, 1876, was completed to Los Angeles. 

At all of their towns the company erected good 
hotels, comfortable depots and made them ship- 
ping or terminal stations. They laid their track 
over the sandy desert where roamed wild deer 
and jackrabbits by the thousands. The land was 
of no value except for pasture, and the traveler 



street near the water front. The council refused. He 
asked for another street. The council could not agree 
as to the street they would grant him. The company 
could' not wait. They laid their track outside the city 
limits. Four years later the people extended the city 
limits beyond the roadbed. The coming of the railroad 
had increased the outside population. Stanford was 
compelled to pay city taxes and he was hot. Later a 
company of "honorable" citizens organized the Stockton 
& Visalia road. It was their agreed purpose to build 
a railroad from Stockton to Visalia. It was to be an 
opposition road to the Southern Pacific. The city and 
county went wild and voted them $500,000 in bonds. 
The citizens built a road ten miles south from Peters, 
a station on the Copperopolis road. Then they sold 
out to Stanford. He called for the bonds. After 
twenty years of litigation a compromise was made of 
$300,000. During this time the Southern Pacific did all 
things possible to injure the city. Maps were pub- 
lished; Stockton was not on the map. Lathrop, with 
less than two hundred inhabitants, was a large dot. 
Thousands of tons of wheat were then being raised 
and shipped. Stockton w'as a wheat depot, but the com- 
pany carried wheat to Port Costa, a fifty-mile farther 
haul, twentj'-five per cent cheaper than they would 
bring it to Stockton. For years the city was a way 
station, not a terminal point, and freight shipped from 
the east consigned to Stockton merchants was not side- 
tracked here until it had gone to Oakland and returned. 
We had at that time a railroad commission. They 
were presumed to regulate these railroad grievances. 
Pjut as Governor Johnson said in his campaign speech 
in 1914, "You had the railroad and the railroad was 
the commission. The railroad commission did one 
work * * * it drew its salary every month for 
thirt3^ years." 

(8) The roadbed there crossing itself forms a com- 
plete loop three-fourths of a mile in length. The 
highest point of the road is 3,694 feet. In reaching 
the loop the train was compelled to travel fifty-five 
miles. 



294 MEX AND EVENTS 

would journey for many miles, seeing no signs 
of civilization save bands of sheep and herders' 
tents. Twenty years have passed, and lo! what 
a wonderful change ! The land then worth but 
$2.50 an acre arose to $50.00, $100.00 and even 
$200.00 ])er acre, after the irrigation canals were 
built. The desert was literally made to "blossom 
like the rose," gardens, orchards and vineyards 
covered the land. The counties grew with aston- 
ishing rapidity. Stanislaus, with a population in 
1870 of 6,497, in 1890 had 10,040, increased in 
1910 to 22,522; Merced in the same time from 
2,097 to 8,035, and in 1910. 15,148; Tulare in 
1870 had 4,533, in 1890 had 24.574, and in 1910 
had 35,440. Fresno in population exceeded all. 
In 1870 the population was 6.336. in 1890 it rose 
to 32,026, and in 1910 to 75,657. 

When the Southern Pacific, and a few years 
later the Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe railroad, 
entered Los Angeles the dawn of a new era arose 
in Southern California. They were no longer 
dependent upon the ocean steamer and the slow 
traveling coach for communication by the way 
of San Francisco with the outside world. The 
old Mexicans, born in adobe huts or upon 
ranchos. living indolent, lazy lives, were to wit- 
ness under more favorable circumstances and 
under a higher form of civilization the repeated 
story of 1849. Again letters were sent east 
boasting of the climate, soil and wonderful pro- 
ductions of California. Tons of printed matter 
were there distributed, describing in glowing 
terms the "new south." Once again the name of 
California resounded along the Atlantic shore. 
Regarding the land of gold? No. the land of 
orange groves and health giving resorts. The 
(Hstance was great, but the way was easy. No 
need now of an iron frame and a rugged con- 
stitution to reach the Golden State. No six 
months' journey across the plains or dangerous 
\oyage upon the stormy waters was necessary. 
The ])ioneers. Cod bless them all. had made the 
way sm(Joth and easy, and with only a five days' 
ride in a handsome jialacc coach the traveler 
could enter the new land and there find accom- 
modations c(iual til those he left behind. The 



THE AGE OF RAILROADS 295 

judicious advertising of Southern California soon 
produced results. The people came by the thou- 
sands and the tidal wave of 1849 was again 
repeated. Were they seekers of gold? No, some 
came to purchase land, millionaires visited the 
coast to spend the winter, and the sick came to 
regain their health. So large was this immigra- 
tion Los Angeles was for a season called the "one 
lung city." The old pueblo became a live, hus- 
tling, bustling modern city. Her population 
increased with astonishing rapidity. In 1850 her 
population was only 1,610. in 1870 it was 5,728. 
From that on it jumped by leaps and bounds. 
in 1880, 11.183; 1890. 50.395; 1900. 102.479. and 
1910, 310.108. 

As the result of this "boom," which stopped 
not at Los Angeles, but spreading through all 
the smaller towns reached San Diego, the south 
grew with marvelous rapidity. The flush time 
which San Diego enjoyed in early days again 
returned, and awaking from her forty years of 
siesta she took on life, energy and enterprise, 
unparalleled b}^ any other city of the coast, save 
her rival one hundred miles to the north. Her 
harbor, next to San Francisco the finest on the 
coast, was alive with steamers and ships, and 
her population, less than 5,000 in 1870, twenty 
years later had increased to 16.000, and in 1910 
was 30,578. The county population during the 
same period increased from 8,618 to 34,987, and 
in 1910 was 61,665. The limits of the old pueblo 
were extended in every direction, fine blocks of 
stores and dwellings were erected, a magnificent 
summer resort costing a million and a half was 
built on Coronado Beach, and millions spent in 
constructing Sweet Water Dam. a magnificent 
piece of work. 



UNPLACED EVENTS. 
CHAPTER XIX. 

Tliey tell us we never can be a manufacturing 
state, as we are too far distant from the cheap 
fuel supply, coal, the market and cheap labor. 
This may be true, but we have an immense elec- 
trical power, which is cheaper than coal ; and 
we have an ocean of fuel oil. We need not go 
to the market to sell our manufactured goods. 
The market is coming to us. As to cheap labor, 
no man can foretell the results arising from the 
Panama canal. Admitting that we may not 
])ecome a manufacturing state, we are rapidly 
becoming the garden spot of the nation. Today 
the exportations from California of fruits, vege- 
tables, cereals and wines (1) are enormous. Yet 
we have thousands of acres of mountain, valley 
and marsh lands, fertile and productive, not yet 
touched by plow or spade. 

As the men of 1849 landed in California they 
rushed to the mines, regarding not the fact that 
agriculture and horticulture were soon to become 



(1) I will give a few figures onl}-, that of 1912. In 
that year California produced over 6,000.000 bushels of 
wheat and 41.700,000 bushels of barley, this being 
second to Minnesota. We grew 3.825,000 tons of hay 
for stock feed, including horses, notwithstanding the 
fact that Californians have expended over $50,000,000 
for automobiles. Then of potatoes 10,000.000 bushels 
were raised. Most of the tubers were raised upon 
reclaimed tule lands, the haunts, thirty years ago, of 
millions of wild ducks and geese. Speaking of beets, 
we beat all states, 1,087,283 tons being raised, this prin- 
cipally in Monterey and San Benito counties. It pro- 
duced in sugar 163,300 tons, crushed for the greater part 
in the largest sugar mill in the world at Salinas. Fresno 
county included, we produced 120,000,000 tons of raisins. 
.\nd Los .\ngelcs county produced oranges and lemons 
valued at $25,000,000. Fruits were dried to the extent 
of 230,000 tons and 45,000.000 gallons of wine produced. 

296 



UNPLACED EVENTS 297 

the greatest source (if wealth (2). Those inclined 
to farming believed it impossible to raise grain 
upon soil that was dry six months of the yeai, 
and they wrote east to friends, "Don't come to 
California, for so rainless is this region it is im- 
possible to raise anything except along the river 
banks" (3). A few of the old pioneers, gaining 
wisdom from the mission fathers, planted grain 
and to some extent exported it. That the wealth 
of the wheat crop alone was far in excess of the 
value of the gold output is an undeniable fact, as 
a few figures only will show. In 1860 the state 
wheat crop was 2,530,400 bushels ; in 1870, 6,937,- 
038 bushels; in 1880, 29,017.707 bushels, and in 
1889, 40,869,337 bushels. This was the state's 
crown point in the i)roduction of wheat. It was 
the largest crop of any state in the Union save 
Minnesota. This immense yield, figured at one 
dollar a bushel (it was often worth more, never 
less), equaled the entire gold output previous to 
1853, and nearly doubled the gold production of 
any two years succeeding 1855. This of wheat 
alone, to say nothing of oats, barley, hay, corn 
and other cereals. In 1852 the state produced 
90,100 1)ushels of barlev ; increasing yearly, the 
crop in 1879 was 11.000.000, and in 1892. lo.OOO.- 
000. Barley is ne\er less than ninety cents a 
bushel. 

The long, dry summer of the San joaciuin 
valley permits the standing for two or more 
months of the ripened grain. So vast was the 



(2) The old Spaniard, Don Luis Peralta, realized this 
fact when his sons were anxious to hasten to the gold 
mines. He said to them, "My sons, go to your ranch 
and raise grain, and that will be your best gold field, 
because we all must eat while we live." 

(3) George C. Yount in 1836 raised wheat in Napa 
county. Wheat in 1848 was raised at Stockton. The 
Mormons raised wheat in 1847 on the upper San Joa- 
quin They also dug irrigating ditches and drew the 
water from the river by endless chain buckets. In 1850 
a new settler, taking up land near Hayward. Alameda 
count}', planted grain. The old settlers, laughing at his 
lolly, said, "You are throwing away your time, you 
can't raise grain on these plains. A little grain can be 
raised on the creeks, but not here." Four years later, 
the county was one vast grain lield, yielding seventy- 
live bushels to the acre. 



298 MEN AND EVENTS 

yield, however, great improvements in agricul- 
tural implements were necessary. The Russians 
plowed their land with a long bent beam, to 
which was fastened a pointed flat piece of iron. 
The pioneers, cultivating from 400 to 1,200 acres 
in each farm, flrst used the single plow. Then 
two plows were fastened together. Next came 
the gang plow, one man and eight horses plowing 
ten acres a day. It cut a three-foot swath. Now 
they cut a furrow eight feet wide, sow and har- 
row at the same time, using an oil burning engine. 

Captain Sutter cut his grain with scythes in 
the hands of several hundred Indians, threshed 
it by driving loose horses over the grain. The 
chaff was sejiarated from the grain by tossing it 
up in blankets in a strong wind. This was the 
work of several months. The pioneer first used 
the old fashioned mcnver for cutting the grain. 
Then was inxented the "California header," 
whicii. cvitting a swath twenty feet wide, sent a 
steady stream of grain into the wagon which 
accompanied it. Later came tlie immense hay 
fork, lifted by horse power, which quickly lifted 
the grain from the wagon and stacked it. After 
1852 the McCormick thresher was used. Still 
later the steam power thresher was sent into the 
held. The engine was so constructed that straw, 
instead of wood, was used for fuel. It threshed 
2,000 bushels a day, but that was not enough. In 
18C0 James Marvin, a farmer of San Joaquin, 
invented a combined header and harvester. It 
was not a success. After his death, however, 
improvements were made from time to time. 
Then this immense machine, drawn by thirty 
horses, cut, threshed and sacked fifteen acres of 
grain in a single day. Now the horses are gone 
and the huge machine is run by its own motive 
power. 

The farmers of the great Sacramento and San 
Joacjuin valleys received a severe setback in 
1862. It was the year of the record breaking 



(4) The cause of the flood. It began snowing 
heavily December 22nd all along the Sierras and so 
continued until January 8, 1862. The entire mountain 
range was covered with snow, in many places thirty 
feet deep. During tin.- same time heavy rains fell in 



UNPLACED EVENTS 299 

flood (4). For nearly two weeks the entire basin 
from Sacramento to Vlsalia was under water. 
About fifty lives were lost and over $50,000,000 
worth of property. The ocean of water running- 
through the Golden Gate prevented sailing ves- 
sels from entering port, and the steamships could 
scarcely breast the swift running tide. So great 
was the property lost, for over twenty miles along 
the coast a continuous body of wreckage was 
seen. This wreckage comprised dead animals, 
houses, lumber, trees, cordwood, mining sluices, 
windmills, etc. 

The flood of 1862 was followed two years later 
by a dry year. Scarcely any rain fell in the 
winter of 1863 or during the following spring 
(5). As a result, the farmers cut but little hay. 
The wheat crop was a complete failure. Hay 
arose in value to $60.00 a ton, and wheat was 
scarce at $5.00 a bushel. Horses, cattle and 
sheep died by the thousands of starvation. Black 
beef, poor and scrawny, sold for food at twenty- 
five cents per pound. The horses of the cities 
and farm — poor and weak from hunger — stag- 
gered as they walked. The street car company 
of San Francisco had great difficulty in main- 
taining their service. Hay and barley were 
imported from Oregon and Nevada. There was 
stagnation in all kinds of business and thousands 



the valley, filling with water the dr3^ parched earth 
and the rivers. Then suddenly the weather moderated. 
The warm snn shone brightly on the Sierras' high 
cliffs — Mount Whitney for one, 18,000 feet in air. The 
melting snow rushed on to the valley. Once only have 
we had too much irrigation. By the Newlands con- 
servation bill, now pending in Congress, it is proposed 
to hold back the heavy flood waters and give the state 
a given amount of water, in proper season. 

(5) From November to May are our days of rain. 
Three months of this time, November, December and 
January, we call winter. From January to November 
we have bright sunshine. During the rain-day months 
of 1863-64 less than seven inches of rain fell at Stock- 
ton. During the rain montlis of 1861-62 over tliiri}- 
inches of rain fell. In 1871-72 it was another dry year. 
It was not disastrous. Irrigation had then been intro- 
duced. The average rainfall of the state varies accord- 
ing to locality. Along the coast from thirty to tifty 
inches of water falls. In the interior ten inches of rain 
is the average. 



300 MEN AND EVENTS 

of men were out of employment. Now irriga- 
tion canals can ofTset a dry year to some extent, 
and thousands of tons of alfalfa are yearly 
raised. 

A great assistance to the state at that time was 
the importation of silver from the Nevada silver 
mines. The mines were discovered about the 
time of the decline in gold mining. Thousands 
of people rushed into the territory. Almost in 
a day Virginia City was founded and it became 
a large and flourishing cai)ital. The Comstock, 
Hale & Norcross, Ophir and Gould & Curry 
silver mines were developed and worked, prin- 
cipally by citizens of San Francisco. There 
William Sharon. J- B. Haggin. Flood and 
O'Brien, Wm. C. Ralston, William Hearst and 
Adolph Sutro (6) made their millions and in 
San Francisco spent it like lords. Many of the 
finest buildings were erected and money flowed 
as in the earlier days of California's wealth. 
About this time was organized the San Francisco 
stock boards. They were a moral blight upon 
the state, a curse not yet destroyed. Stock gam- 
bling became contagious. All classes, from the 
child to the gray haired man, engaged in gam- 
])ling. It demoralized 1)usiness, disrupted homes, 
caused murders and suicides and ruined the lives 
of tlKjusands of young men and women. 

Almost simultaneously with the discovery of 
Nevada's silver, copper was discovered in June, 
1860, in the Sierras east of Stockton. Cornish 
miners were imported from Cornwall, England, 
to work in the mines. A town was immediately 
founded. Within five years Copperopolis had a 
population of 10,000 inhabitants. A new industry 
was created for the mule teams, and at one time 
800 tons of copper in 100-pound sacks were daily 
loaded upon the water front. It was then landed 
upon a steamer ])uilt for the copper trade and 



(6) It was the silver from these mines obtained by 
tlie generous pioneer Frenchman, Adolph Sutro, that 
built Sutro Heights and the new Cliff House, San 
Francisco. Now it is a welcome resort for all visitors. 
He also gave to San Francisco a very valuable library 
i)f ancient volumes and documents, valued at $1,000,000. 



UNPLACED EVENTS 301 

in San Francisco bay the copper was transferred 
to a sailing vessel bound for England. Within 
six years copper was discovered in Michigan. A 
metal was also found that at a cheaper price 
would take the place of copper. The price of 
copper fell twenty per cent and the Copperopolis 
mines were shut down. Over a thousand men 
in the mines alone were thrown out of work 
and the town was deserted. 

One of the demoralizing effects of the gambling 
mania was the lottery October 31, 1870, of the 
San Francisco Mercantile Association. The asso- 
ciation, although composed of the wealthiest and 
most influential citizens of the city, became very 
heavily involved. As the creditors were about 
to seize the library and building, the association 
planned an immense lottery and concert to pay 
the debt. By law the lottery was prohibited, yet 
the Legislature February 10, 1869, passed a spe- 
cial act empowering the association to hold a 
lottery. The scheme was patronized by thou- 
sands of citizens throughout the state. The 
drawing for prizes took place as advertised and 
over a million dollars was distributed. The 
highest prize was $100,000. The concert included 
a three days' program, commencing February 22, 
1870. It was the largest musical celebration of 
the Pacific coast and, later, once only has it been 
excelled. Singers, twelve hundred in number, 
from every singing society in the state took part, 
one hundred coming by special train from Ne- 
vada. The orchestra of two hundred instruments 
was accompanied ]:>y fifty anvils in the "11 Trova- 
tore" chorus and an immense bass drum. Ru- 
dolph Herold held the baton. Camelia Urso, the 
world wide famous woman violinist, was present 
and she was the principal attraction. An audience 
of twelve thousand each afternoon filled the 
Mechanics' pavilion. 

Two years previous, October, 1868, San Fran- 
cisco was given her first earthquake fright. The 
shock was first felt at 7 :50 a. m., and for a period 
of forty-two seconds the suspense was terrible. 
The cheeks of thousands of citizens blanched 
with fear. Hundreds ran into the streets scantily 
clothed. Six persons were killed by falling walls 



302 MF.X AXD KVKXTS 

and jumping from lofty heights. The city suf- 
fered a loss of over $500,000. Outside of San 
Francisco the loss was very small. In San Jose 
men reeled as if intoxicated. Many persons 
became deathly sick. The artesian wells in- 
creased their flow of water. San Leandro creek, 
a running stream two feet in depth, became dry. 
The earth opened in places several feet wide. In 
Stockton the shock was slightly felt at 7:51. The 
time of travel of the wave was just one minute. 
The city lies northeast of San Francisco some 
eighty air line miles (7). 

Inyo county on March 26, 1872, suffered the 
most violent shock in California up to that date. 
The terrible destructive wave ran along the base 
of the Sierra Nevadas, and it was felt from Red 
Bluff to Los Angeles. San Francisco. Stockton 
and San Jose knew nothing of it until the tele- 
graph reported the news. The principal build- 
ings in every town were destroyed. The face 
of the county was changed. In places the earth 
crust sank sex'eral feet ; in other places it was 
thrown up in ridges, forming embankments ten 
feet high. In places lakes disappeared and 
springs ceased their flow. In other spots springs 
were created. In the hills near Visalia trees 
were uprooted and immense rocks were thrown 
into the canyon. Over one hundred persons were 
injured and thirty-four killed in various ways. 
The shock came at 2 :00 a. m. It was preceded 
by a low rumbling. There were three hundred 
distinct shocks and for three days the earth 
trembled. 

The Legislature assembled at Sacramento 
January 5, 1862. At tiiat time Sacramento was 
"from two feet to ten feet under water, and in 
rowboats or high gum boots the legislators 
reached the capitol. They adjourned January 



(7) Earthquakes were first recorded in 1818-24. 
I'rom 1850 to 1880 forty-si.x distinct shocks were felt 
along tlic coast. San I-'rancisco was severely shaken 
in the earthquake of 1851 and again October 8, 1865. 
In llie siiock last named several persons were injured 
l)y juini)ing from second story windows. Property 
• kpreciated in value. Over one thousand persons re- 
turned to the eastern states to reside. 



UNPLACED EVENTS 303 

23rd to meet the following day in San Francisco. 
The Legislature took passage on the Chrysopolis 
and they paid the company $1,000 for the trip (8). 

The year 1862 was a very disastrous one for 
shipping and the California owners lost over 
six and one-half million dollars from the destruc- 
tion of steamers and sailing vessels. Oregon at 
that time had no commvmication with the eastern 
states except by the way of San Francisco. 

Steamers ran semi-monthly between the last 
named port and Portland. The Northerner of 
this line w^as wrecked in January, 1860, and 
seventeen passengers lost. All of the women pas- 
sengers save one were saved through the heroic 
cft\)rts of Arthur French, the third mate. Pull- 
ing to the shore, trailing a rope, he succeeded 
in fastening it. Two boatloads of women were 
safely landed. The third load was swamjxMl and 
all were drcnvned. including French. 

Another marine disaster five years later was 
the loss of the famous steamship Brother Jona- 
than. As she left her San Francisco pier boiuid 
for Portland a heavy wind was blowing". She 
had on board one hundred and ninety passengers, 
including James Nisbet, one of the proprietors 
of the Bulletin, and Brigadier General Wright 
and famil}-. The general was on his way to 
( )regon t(^ pay ofif the troops and he had $2,000,- 
000 in gold and greenbacks (9). On the second 
(la\- at sea (July 31. 186,^), the wind increasing to 

(8) Because of the removal, many of the citizens of 
the capital were angrj'. The Sacramento Union in an 
editorial, sneeringly remarked that they thought the 
])ioneers could stand hardships. Assemhh-man Bell of 
.Alameda strongly opposed the removal. As the legis- 
lators gathered at the landing the crowd gave three 
cheers for Bell and three groans for Attornej' General 
I'Vank Pi.xley. Tie gave it as his opinion that the 
transfer of archives to San Francisco was lawful. 

(9) The greenbacks were sealed up in rubber tubes 
and then placed in metallic cases. So large was the 
amount of treasure lost, several attempts have been 
made to recover it. Only within a j'ear or two. said 
the newspaper February 14tli. "Efforts to recover 
$1,000,000 in gold bullion and three hundred barrels of 
whisky from the wreck of the sidewheel steamer 
Urother Jonathan are being made by several Oakland 
mcrcliants." 



304 MEN AND EVENTS 

a gale. Captain De Wolf concluded to put into 
port at Crescent City. Eight miles from the 
harbor the ship struck a sunken rock. She went 
down in forty-five minutes. The boats were 
launched, but they could not live in the raging 
sea and only seventeen passengers were saved. 
Later General Wright's body was washed ashore 
and with full military honors he was buried in 
the state plot at Sacramento. 

Had General Wright lived until this date he 
would have been despised by the laboring classes, 
as they declare they have no use for the militia. 
So declared the miners of the gold quartz mines 
at Sutter Creek, Amador county. They struck 
for higher wages in July, 1871, and the employers 
refused their demand and employed non-union 
labor. 

Then the miners, marching from mine to mine, 
threatened to beat up the non-unionists. They 
stopped work. The mines began to fill with 
water ; the employers then called upon the 
sheriff for protection. The county official called 
upon Governor Haight, and two companies of 
the National Guard of San Francisco, in com- 
mand of W. H. L. Barnes, sailed June 18th on 
the steamer Yosemite for the seat of war. The 
militia on arrival guarded the mines and the non- 
union men were set to work pumping out the 
water. The damage was in excess of $100,000. 
After a month of these conditions the mine 
owners com]:)romised with the "Union League." 
It was, they thought, a costly proposition paying 
non-union miners to pump water out of the mines 
and militia to guard them. During the trouble 
two men were killed, Edward Hatch, the book- 
keeper of the Amador mine, and John McManey. 
the leader of the strike. Hatch was killed by a 
stray shot. McManey, assaulting the bookkeeper 
at a dance that evening, was killed the following 
day in a quarrel by a friend of Hatch. 

The .\mador war was succeeded two years 
later by what was known in history as the Alodoc 
or Indian war. It was the last Indian fight, the 
end of the massacre of the poor savages, once 
the sole owners of California's soil. I can touch 



UNPLACED EVENTS 305 

but lightly upon the cause and the result of this 
fight. 

The Modocs were a tribe of brave Indians who 
lived in Northern California on the banks of the 
Pit and Lost rivers. They had in early days 
been massacred and maltreated in every manner 
possible — and they retaliated in kind. In 1856 
the government established a military post in 
Surprise valley. An Indian campaign was then 
begun, which continued until 1864. Then a 
treaty of peace was signed between the govern- 
ments and the Modocs. They were compelled 
to go to a small reservation near Klamath lake. 
There they were to be supplied with food and 
clothing through Indian agents. The agents 
stole all they could carry and the Indians were 
scantily clothed and only half fed. Then the 
settlers began encroaching upon their reserva- 
tion, killing their game and occasionally a Modoc. 
Finally the tribe was reduced to such a condition 
that it was starve or fight. 

Fortifying themselves in the center crater of 
the lava beds, they killed several settlers and 
then defied the whites to come and take them. 
After an encounter January 17, 1873, in which 
General Wheaton lost forty men and several 
muskets and one thousand rounds of ammuni- 
tion, the government concluded to again make a 
treaty of peace. 

Three peace commissioners were appointed, 
A. B. Meacham, then one of the Indian superin- 
tendents ; Rev. William Thomas, a Methodist 
pastor; Dyer, an Indian agent, and General E. 
R. S. Canby. Efiforts were made several times 
to make a treaty. The Modocs, fearing treachery, 
would make no treaty which compelled them to 
leave the lava beds. Another conference was 
arranged for April 11th. Frank Riddle, a white 
man, was the interpreter. His squaw^ wife ad- 
vised the commissioners not to meet the Modoc 
committee that day. "They will kill you," she 
said. Heeding not her advice, on arrival they 
found seven Modocs sitting on the earth. Ac- 
cording to the agreement there should have been 
five only. Fearing no treachery, the commis- 
sioners dismounted from their horses. Dr. 



306 MEN AXD EVENTS 

'I'homas addressed the Indians in a short speech 
and said in closing, "I know their hearts are all 
good (these Modocs). W'& want no more blood 
shed." Just then Meacham. observing a suspi- 
cious movement on the part of one Indian, ex- 
claimed. "What does this mean?" The commis- 
sioners were unarmed, and Captain Jack, drawing 
a re\'olver which had been concealed, shot and 
instantl}- killed General Canby. Three Modocs 
armed with rifles, who had been concealed in the 
bushes, now took ])art in the fight. Boston 
Charley shot and killed Dr. Thomas. Meacham 
fled, but as he ran he was shot in the shoulder 
by John Schonin. Dyer and Riddle saved them- 
selves by flight. From the bluff a squad of 
soldiers saw the massacre. Hastening to the 
spot, they found General Canby stripped of his 
uniform and clothing. Dr. Thomas' clothing was 
partly gone. Meacham was unconscious and 
])adly wounded. 

Orders now came from Washington to drive 
out the Modocs with shot and shell if necessary. 
Their fortification in the lava bed was almost 
impregnable. General Gillem in a three days' 
engagement April 15th was surprised and nine- 
teen killed and twenty-eight wounded, over forty- 
seven men having been killed during this cam- 
jiaign. (General Gillem was superceded by Gen- 
eral J. T). Davis. He fought the Modocs as they 
had fought, from behind rocks and barriers. He 
shelled heavily every point before he advanced, 
using mountain howitzers, and May 15th he 
reaclied their stronghold, an extinct crater. Not 
a Modoc in sight. They had all fled. Later 
Captain jack. John Schonin and Boston Charley 
were cajjtured. They were tried for murder, 
found guiltv and together hanged (October 3, 
1873) at Fo'rt Klamath. 

While the Modocs were causing considerable 
excitement around Mount Shasta, a band of Mexi- 
can desperadoes led by Timburcio Vasquez were 
making things lively in Monterey and other 
southern counties. Vasquez in some respects 
followed the j^lan of Joaquin Murietta. He 
would quickly ride from place to place, aommit- 
ting rttbberics and murders. At one time the 



UNPLACED EVENTS 307 

band operated in San Joaquin county. At that 
time an Italian named Frank Medina kept a store 
some twenty miles east of Stockton. A teamster 
passing December 10. 1869. found the building 
burned to the ground. Search being made for 
the proprietor, he and five others were found 
murdered. Three of the Vasquez desperadoes 
committed the murder. In 1870 they were taken 
prisoners, tried, convicted and hanged. Vasquez. 
the chief, who had been committing robberies and 
murders for nearly twenty years, continued his 
depredations. In July, 1873, he committed what 
was known as the Tres Pinos murder in Mon- 
terey county. One Snyder at that town kept a 
store. Vasquez and two of his companions killed 
the proprietors and three others, and robbed the 
store. He was now such a terror to the southern 
country that the Legislature of 1874 appropriated 
$5,000 reward for Vasquez dead or alive. The 
money was placed in the hands of Harry Morse, 
of Alameda, three of the best officers of the state, 
Harry Morse, Thomas Cunningham and Benja- 
min Thorn of Calaveras working together. 

After several months of travel and dangerous 
experiences, they captured the outlaw (May 
13th) near Los Angeles. During the fight, says 
Morse, "The bandit threw up both hands, crying, 
'No shoot, no shoot!'" Almost instantly he fell 
wounded by a charge of buckshot. Vasquez 
recovered from his wound and was tried at San 
Jose for the Tres Pinos murder. He was found 
guilty and hanged in the courtvard of the jail 
March 19, 1875. 

Harry Morse was a pioneer and a member of 
the California Pioneers, that society that de- 
creases in number as the years fly on. On the 
9th of July. 1850. President Zachariah Taylor 
died. The steamer California August 23rd 
brought the news. The citizens of San Fran- 
cisco August 29th honored the deceased Whig 
President by a procession, oration and music. 
All pioneers were requested to assemble and 
march in the procession. It was their first ap- 
pearance, those sixty founders of the state. 
.Samuel Brannan was the grand marshal. A few 
days later they organized a pioneer society, with 



308 MEX AND EVENTS 

W. D. M. Howard as president. That year they 
celebrated CaHfornia's admission in grand style. 
During the day they were presented with a hand- 
some banner designed by George Derby (10). 
Since that time not a year has passed uncele- 
brated. And in processions, banquets, orations, 
poems, songs and dances they have kept alive 
that memorable event September 9th. In July, 
1853, they reorganized with Samuel Brannan as 
president. In their ninth celebration they 
mourned the death of the gifted young poet, 
Edward Pollock, also the veteran pioneer, Thos. 
O. Larkin. That year (1858) the pioneers were 
deeded a lot on Montgomery, near Pacific, by 
James Lick. A handsome building July 8, 1863, 
was dedicated, with Thomas Starr King as the 
orator. Occupying this building until 1890. they 
then removed to a handsome building on Fourth, 
near Market, from money contributed from 
James Lick, deceased. In their room of "memor- 
able days" they gathered thousands of relics of 
California's past. The fire of 1906 swept nearly 
everything out of existence. In the early '60's 
pioneer societies were organized in every large 
city. Now the gray haired pioneers are but a 
few, "waiting the judgment day." 

The California Pioneer Society was the only 
body of its kind in existence. From its loins 
there sprung the Native Sons of the Golden West 



(10) Geo. II. Derby was a lieutenant on the staff of 
General Benett Riley. He was one of the most humor- 
ous men of that day and his book, "Phaenixia," was 
a classic of humor. He was always playing jokes. One 
of his most severe jokes was on Judson Ames in 1851, 
proprietor and editor of the San Diego Herald. Ames 
was a strong Democrat and favored Bigler for Gov- 
ernor. Visiting San Francisco for two weeks, he left 
Derby in charge. Then the fun began. Derby changed 
the politics to Whig and, being a good cartoonist and 
l)rilliant writer, he berated and made all manner of fun 
of Bigler. Ames on his return was boiling over with 
anger. He and Derby had a rough and tumble fight in 
the editorial room. They became friends, however, and 
Derljy in the Herald gave a most latighalilc description 
of the skirmish. 



California's Native Son Governors 




GEORGE C. PARDEE 



The twentieth Go\-- 
ornor of California was 
George C. Pardee. Born 
in San Francisco July 
25, 1857. he attended 
tlie public schools of 
San Francisco a n d 
Oakland. He graduated 
from the University of 
California in 1879. Then 
studying medicine, in 
1885, he graduated from 
the Lepsic German 
University. He was 
elected Governor No- 
veml^er 4, 1902. He is 
now engaged in state 
conservation work. 



Hiram Warren Johnson 

tlie oldest son of Grove 
L. Johnson, the well 
known attorney and 
politician, was born 
September 2, 1866, in 
Sacramento. At the 
age of 18 he graduated 
from .the Sacramento 
High School. Two 
years later, 1886, he be- 
gan the study of law. 
and was admitted to 
practice in 1888. He 
removed to San Fran- 
cisco in 1902, and he 
and his brother, Albert 
M., opened a law office. 
He first came into pub- 
lic notice through the 
Abraham Ruef trial. B}' 
the citizens at large, he 
was nominated for Governor at the first direct ijrimary 
election, and elected Governor November 8, 1910. He 
was re-elected in November, 1914. 




HIR.\M W.\RREN JOHNSON 



310 MEN AND EVENTS 

(11). The first parlor, California No. 1, was 
organized July 11, 1873, with twenty-five mem- 
bers, none less than seventeen years of age. This 
was the only parlor in the state until December. 
1877. Then a branch was instituted at Oakland. 
A third parlor was organized March 28, 1878, at 
Sacramento. In 1880 (June 8th) the Grand 
Parlor was instituted and in April, 1883, the 
thirteen parlors then organized resolved to cele- 
brate each Admission Day (September 9th), the 
first celebration taking place in Stockton, and 
there were one thousand Native Sons in line. 

The celebration of 1880 in San Francisco was 
as fine perhaps as any that has been celebrated. 
The festivities continued three days, commencing 
on the evening of Sei)tember 6th with a parade, 
open air concert and fireworks. The following 
day was Sunday. On Monday there was boat 
and barge racing on the bay. From all parts of 
the state the boys assembled and each parlor 
tried to outshine every other parlor. The parade 
of September 9th was grand. Every organiza- 
tion in San Francisco took part — the militia, 
pioneers, veteran firemen, county officials, Mexi- 
can veterans and over thirty parlors. Twenty 
thousand were in line and sixty brass bands fur- 
nished the music. There were twenty large and 
handsome floats. Quite a number of them were 
contributed by the Native Daughters of the 



(11) The organization is the outgrowth of the idea 
suggested by General A. M. Winn, that the native sons 
form a society. Winn in 1869 was grand marshal of 
the San Francisco parade. At his suggestion, a large 
numlier of boy native sons took part in the procession. 
Si.x years later the general worked out his idea, and 
in June, 1875, a notice appeared in the papers calling 
upon the native sons over seventeen years of age to 
asseml)le June 29tli for tlie purpose of celebrating July 
4th. A large number took part in the parade. Forming 
tlieir organization July 11th, tlicir first celebration was 
September 9th. On that day, forming in procession 
and escorted by the French Zouaves, they marched to 
Woodward's gardens. One of the features of the pro- 
cession was a moth-eaten stuffed bear which the boys 
had found, and a bear flag made of canvas and painted 
by John Steinbach and Paul Harmon During the day 
they were i)rescnted with a handsome Hag, the gift of 
the native dauglitcrs. 



UNPLACED EVENTS 31 1' 

Golden West. Their first parlor was organized 
in September, 1886, at Jackson, Amador county. 

San Francisco is the winter quarters of the 
floating population of the state. Naturally there 
is at times among such a class much suffering 
and hardships. In 1874, to partly relieve the 
distress, Charles Crocker gave employment to 
several hundred men. They filled up Mission 
bay, where now stands the Southern Pacific 
railroad building. The San Francisco Benevo- 
lent Association in 1876 expended over $10,000 
in relieving distress. In the following year the}' 
fed over one thousand persons during the winter. 
In November a bread riot was threatened and 
a committee appointed quickly collected $20,000 
for relief. The suffering continued and in Janu- 
ary, 1878, Dennis Kearney at the head of one 
thousand men marched to the city hall and de- 
manded of the mayor, "Bread or a place in the 
county jail." The winter of 1889-90 was another 
period of extreme destitution. The sum of 
$20,000 was raised and work was given to the 
unemployed in Golden Gate park. Married men 
were given the preference. So eager were these 
men to earn their "one dollar" a day, on one occa- 
sion for three days they labored in a heavy rain. 
Some of those men had but a crust of bread for 
their noon meal. 

Aside from the panic of 1855, the heaviest 
financial crisis of the coast was the failure Au- 
gust 26, 1875, of the Bank of California, the 
"King of California banks." It was incorporated 
in 1864 with a capital of $2,000,000. Its directors 
were among the wealthiest men of San Francisco 
and behind them the Nevada silver mines. The 
bank immediately took rank with the leading 
banks of America and Europe, and its stock at 
all times brought a high premium. It exerted a 
strong influence in the state. Rival banks de- 
clared that the Bank of California was controlling 
the finance and the legislators of both California 
and Nevada. The assertion was true. 

In what manner the news became public I do 
not know. Near the hour of noon, however, on 
August 26th, the public began making a run on 
the bank. The few soon increased to hundreds 



312 MEN AND EVENTS 

and tlie poorly dressed men and women pushed 
and crowded each other in order to reach the 
counter and withdraw their hard earned deposits. 
Finall}^ so great was the press it became neces- 
sar}- to close the doors and compel them to enter 
one by one. The crowd continued increasing, 
but at 3 :00 o'clock, the usual time of closing, 
both doors were locked. The doors were not 
again opened until October. The directors, now 
assembling, began an examination of the books. 
Much to their dismay, they found the bank had 
on hand $100,000 only, and that their liabilities 
(including their reserve fund of $1,000,000 and 
their capital stock of $500,000) amounted to 
$19,538,000. They had given full confidence to 
their jiresident. W. C. Ralston, and he, presenting 
false statements, had exhibited for their inspec- 
tion money borrowed from other banks. He had 
been spending money lavishly, they knew, but 
he had also been making immense sums of money 
in speculation. Examining his accounts, they 
found his assets were $8,000,000, but his debt's 
exceeded his assets by $4,000,000. The bank lost 
$5,000,000. This was a trifle only, for the direc- 
tors were each worth from five to twenty million. 
The bank again opened for business October 3rd. 
Every clerk was in his accustomed place and 
today the bank pursues the even tenor of its way. 
One officer only was absent from the bank on 
its opening day. William C. Ralston — the boldest, 
gamcst speculator on the Pacific coast, the braini- 
est man of all state financiers. Born in Ohio in 
1825. he received a common school education. 
Then he learned the ship carpenter's trade. His 
next occu])ation was clerking on a Mississippi 
river steamer. In 1850 he started for California, 
but remained at Panama as the agent of the 
( iarrison & Morgan steamer line. The ct)mpany 
in 1853 transferred Ralston to San Francisco 
rind he became a clerk in their bank. The young 
man. industrious, frugal and sa\ing, soon had 
acquired cpiite a sum of money, and he purchased 
the bank of his employers. He now took in a 
l)artner named Fret/, and they continued the 
banking business until 1858. 



5" 



CO 



bd 



o 




314 MEN AND EVENTS 

Ralston now began planning for the ambition 
of his life, namely, to become the king of Cali- 
fornia bankers. With this object in view, he 
interested Darius O. Mills (12), William Sharon 
and others and in 1864 the Bank of California was 
incorportited. D. O. Mills was the first president 
and AW C. Ralston the cashier. The success of 
the bank surpassed even their highest hopes, as 
it paid a one per cent monthly dividend. D. O. 
Mills resigned in 1873. and the directors having 
great confidence in the ability, business tact and 
honesty of their cashier, elected him president. 
With gold unlimited at his command, Ralston 
now plunged into gigantic enterprises, schemes 
which fairly astonished his friends and brought 
forth i>raise from press and people. He built a 
beautiful and costly mansion at Belmont, San 
Mateo county (13). Then, with others, he en- 
gaged in enterprises and speculations far in 
excess of any other capitalist on the coast. 
Among his enterprises was the Mission woolen 
mill, the Cornell watch factory, the Kimball car- 
riage works, the San Joaquin and Calaveras irri- 
gation scheme, the building of the Palace hotel 
(14), the erection of the California theater (15). 



(12) In the rotunda of the state capitol there sits 
a beautiful group of marble statuarj-, costing $10,000. 
It represents Columbus at the throne of Queen Isabella. 
It was presented to the state by D. O. ^lills. 

(13) Tills property after the death of Ralston be- 
came the residence of ^Irs. Mark Hopkins, the widow 
of the railroad builder. She died in Xew York, August 
7, 1891, worth $70,000,000, then the wife of Edward 
Sears. Ralston in his palatial home lived in sumptuous 
style, lie there entertained all of the distinguished 
men who visited the state, and although married, he 
had mistresses not a few. With a beautiful double 
team of trotters, black and white, he would go to and 
from the bank morning and evening to San Mateo, 
making the distance, twenty miles, in just one hour. 

(14) This hotel, then the largest in the world, was 
built by Sharon and Ralston at a cost of $3,250,000. 
Seven stories in height, it had a frontage of 270 feet 
and a depth of 250 feet. In the center was an open 
court 120 feet in height from the marble floor to the 
glass covered roof. Work was begun in 1872 and the 
hotel ojx'ned in October, 1875. It had 750 rooms and 
would accommodate 1,200 guests. The great lire de- 
stroyed tlie building. The walls were dynamited and 
a new building erected. 



UNPLACED EVENTS 315 

and the north extension of Montgomery street. 
It was customary at that time for bank presi- 
dents to borrow money frcmi themselves, and as 
the directors knew that Ralston was a man of 
tremendous ability and unlimited credit, they did 
not worry. But he was too sanguine regarding 
his own ability. The crisis came and he could 
not meet it. Yet said Ashbury Harpending in 
1913, had Ralston been spared another month, 
he would have emerged from all difficulties, as 
he had property and stock worth $15,000,000. 

The day following the closing of the bank the 
directors requested Ralston to hand in his resig- 
nation. He complied, and immediately leaving 
the bank was not again seen in life by the offi- 
cials. It was about 4:00 o'clock and Ralston, 
rapidly walking to North Beach, entered the 
Neptune bath house, intending to take a swim 
in the bay, as was his usual custom. A boatman 
advised him not to enter the cold water, as he 
was too warm. Heeding not the advice, Ralston, 
who was a strong swimmer, plunged headlong 
into the bay from the end of Meiggs' wharf and 
struck out boldly for Alcatraz island. A few 
minutes later the boatman noticed the swimmer 
struggling in the water. Rowing quickly to his 
side, the boatman carried the unconscious man 
to the beach. A few minutes later he died. A 
hack driven at full speed up the streets stopped 
at the bank and a man running into the office 
shouted, "Ralston has killed himself." The news 
spread like wildfire and soon thousands were 
hurrying to North Beach. 

The suicide theory was prevalent among the 
enemies of Ralston, but the physicians declared 
that he had died of congestion of the lungs and 
brain. After a careful analysis no poison was 
found in the stomach, vet the Call and the Bul- 



(15) This theater on California street was the hand- 
somest and most costly theater upon the coast. It was 
opened January 18, 1869, liy John McCuUoch and Lau- 
rence Barrett. Among the performers were Annette 
Ince; Emelie Mellville, who died last week, October, 
1914; Mrs. E. S. Sanders, John T. Raymond, Harry 
Edwards, Willie Edouin, John Tcrrance, Mrs. Judah 
Faney Marsh and E. W. Buckley. 



316 MEX AND EVENTS 

letin both declared it a case of suicide. The 
papers charged him also with forgery, fraud and 
embezzlement. The assertion created the great- 
est indignation and hundreds of San Francisco's 
i)est citizens fought the assertion. His death was 
looked upon as a common calamity, said one of 
his partners now living, and no spectacle has ever 
been witnessed in modern times such as his 
funeral presented. By common consent business 
of all kinds was suspended in San Francisco and 
thousands attended the last service. He was 
buried in Lone Mountain cemetery (16). Thomas 
Mtch, the silver tongued orator, delivered the 
funeral oration. 

The year following Ralston's death another 
notable figure died, a man the exact antithesis 
of Ralston, and yet he was to mankind a far 
greater benefactor. While living, the world 
called him eccentric, selfish and an old skinflint, 
vet after his death no praise was too lavish for 
James Lick (17), for in his will, leaving $150,000 
only to his son. n(H one cent to relatixes. he left 



(16) Lone Mountain ccnicter)-. now called Laurel 
Hill cemetery, was laid off in 1854 for a burial ground 
liy a corporation. It was dedicated May 30th with ap- 
])ropriate ceremony. The lirst San Francisco burial 
places were Telegraph hill, Russian hill and Clark's 
])oint. In 1850 the town council designated Verba 
i'.uena as the place where all bodies should be byried. 
Later it was the city hall site. When the announce- 
ment was made, long trenches were dug at Verba 
liuena, and the l)ones by the shovelful were dug up 
from the old burial places and carted to the new ceme- 
terj'. In the mountain camps so eager were the miners 
to get gold they had not even common decency. They 
tore down burial fences, undermined the graves and 
threw the dead to one side to get the gold In 1854 
a law was enacted i)rotecting graveyards. In 1860 a 
law was i)assed permitting the incorporation of ceme- 
tery associations. 

(17) Regarding the life of James Lick we have only 
a meager account. He was born in Pennsylvania in 
1798 and, with a limited education, learned the cabinet 
making occupation. Then he fell in love with a wealthy 
miller's daughter. The little knowledge that we have 
of this love making seemed to indicate that the miller 
op])osed the match because Lick was a struggling 
young mechanic. Lick then resolved to emigrate and 
make a fortune. lie sailed for Buenos Aires and re- 



UNPLACED EVENTS 317 

$4,000,000 to be expended for humanity. To the 
Old Ladies' Home he left $100,000, for the build- 
ing of a public bath house and free public baths 
$150,000, for statuary representing California his- 
tory $100,000, for a school of mechanical arts 
$540,000, a bronze statue of Francis Scott Key, 
author of "The Star Spangled Banner," $60,000, 
and for an astronomical observatory with a tele- 
scope lens larger than any yet made (18) 
$700,000. 

The A'ear 1878 was a notable one in many re- 
spects. Not the least was the death of five 
prominent men. Four of the number were mil- 
lionaires, and the fifth, ex-Governor Haight, was 
wealthy. Two of the deceased, Mark Hopkins 
and David D. Colton, were Central Pacific rail- 



sided there and in Rio De Janeiro several years, making 
about $10,000. Coming to California in 1847, he invested 
all of his money in San Francisco property. Lots then 
had but little value. He paid for the lot where now 
stands the Lick house $300. Its value now is above 
the half million inark. 

In a spirit of revenge, because of his rejection by 
the miller's daughter, he built a mill at San Jose, and 
making it finer than the "old gentleman's mill," he 
finished it in California laurel, the most expensive of 
native woods. This foolishness cost him $200,000. 

Aside from this extravagance, he spent but little 
money, dressed shabbil3% and building in 1861 the mag- 
nificent Lick house, rented it and lodged alone in one 
of the cheapest rooms. He there lived in dirt and filth 
and would not even permit the washing of the windows. 
In carr^nng on his business, he rode about the streets 
driving an old horse, in an old buggy tied up with wire. 
The harness was tied with strings. The public laughed 
and joked about "the old man and his rattle trap." His 
yearly income at this time was about $250,000. 

(18) The making of the telescope was task beyond 
human experience. It was mipossible, all telescope 
makers believed, to comply with the provisions of the 
will. Finally one firm undertook the manufacture of 
the world's largest instrument. After several failures 
because of defective lenses, they succeeded. The glass 
when finished was thirty-six inches in diameter, six 
inches larger than any previously manufactured lens. 
There are today only two larger than the Lick tele- 
scope. The tube is thirty-six feet in length. So strong 
is this lens it brings the moon within sixty miles of the 
earth. It was elevated upon Mount Hamilton, near 
San Jose, 280 feet above the valley. Beneath the tele- 
scope dome sleeps James Lick. 



318 MEX AND EVENTS 

road directDrs. Michael Reese and William 
O'Brien became wealthy through the Washoe, 
Nevada, silver mines. O'Brien was an Irishman. 
He came to California in 1849 and became a ship 
chandler. He then became a whisky dealer, his 
partner being James S. Flood, who died in Eng- 
land in February, 1888. Among their patrons 
were many stock brokers and mining men. The 
two partners kept their ears open and they picked 
up considerable knowledge regarding stocks and 
mining. Finally they concluded to go into the 
stock brokers" occupation. They invested heavily 
and became partners with John W. Mackey and 
Wm. G. Fair, afterward a United States Senator 
from Nevada. The two last named were practical 
miners. They remained in the mines. Flood and 
O'Brien played the bull and bear in the San 
Francisco stock board. It was a firm almost 
invincible because of their united strength and 
shrewdness. In their first deal they made a half 
million dollars. Buying the stock of several 
mines, they consolidated two of the best mines. 
Wm. G. Fair, then going to Washington, ofi'ered 
to supply the government with $10,000,000 in 
silver per month. They put in circulation over 
$100,000,000 in silver. When the California bank 
failed, each partner was worth $20,000,000. In 
October, 1875, they estal)lished the Ne\ada bank 
with a capital of $5,000,000. They soon increased 
the capital to $10,000,000 and erected a handsome 
bank building costing $1,500,000. 

Andreas IMco in early Mexican days applied 
for and recei\ ed a grant of land eleven square 
leagues in what is now San Joaquin county. It 
was known as the Los Moquelmos grant, which 
now includes Lodi, the "home of the Tokay 
grape." Farmers in good faith purchased and 
located on the land and improved it. The land 
commissioners in 1852 for some reason refused 
to confirm Pico's title. He continued selling 
lands, however, and nothing was said regarding 
a clouded title. The farmers builded fences, 
erected homes, raised families of children and 
remained in undisputed claim of the land until 
1869. The Central Pacific then claimed the land 
under their twenty-mile subsidy. The settlers 



UNPLACED EVENTS 319 

f<:mght for their homes under the "Newhall vs. 
Sanger" case and won their suit. The Supreme 
Court of the United States sustained the state 
court and May 8, 1876, Senator Newton Booth 
wired their decision. This was among the first 
suits whereby the Central Pacific endeavored to 
drive from their homes farmers who had lived 
from five to twenty years upon their land. 

The settlers greatly rejoiced, and Avishing 
everybody to rejoice with them, May 19th they 
celebrated at Lodi. The entire surrounding coun- 
try, including Stockton, took part in the happy 
occasion. There was a procession, oration, music, 
dancing and feasting throughout the day. The 
farmers paid the entire expense. Cattle, hogs 
and sheep were barbecued and the 15,000 people 
had plenty to eat and drink, Lodi furnishing an 
800-gallon barrel of claret. 

The great social movement of national organi- 
zations was inaugurated in 1883. In that year 
(August 23rd) the Knights Templar assembled 
at San Francisco in their twenty-third conclave. 
As the Knights Templar of the metropolis were 
among the most intelligent, wealthy and influen- 
tial citizens of the state, the celebration was one 
of the grandest. The city was decorated as never 
before, and the buildings were one mass of ban- 
ners, flags, mottoes and Masonic emblems. The 
national guests were tendered a free concert and 
ball, excursions by steamer around the bay, and 
by cars to Santa Cruz and Monterey. During 
the week competitive drills took place for five 
magnificent prizes. The material of which they 
were made was marble, on3^x, silver and gold. 
An immense parade was held, there being over 
five thousand Knights in line. The Boston and 
the St. Louis commanderies, with their $5,000 
uniforms, were a special feature. Marching to 
Golden Gate park, the commandery with appro- 
priate ceremony laid tlie corner stone of the Gar- 
field monument. At all hours of the day and 
night marching bodies of Knights paid fraternal 
visits, and the music of the bands gave San Fran- 
cisco a week of melody. 

Before daylight on the morning of January 19, 
1884, as the Los Angeles express approached the 



320 MEN AND EVENTS 

Tehachapi mountain, the passengers were sleep- 
ing soundly. The nigiit was cold. There was a 
heavy frost upon the rails. Slowly the two en- 
gines, rear and front, over the steep grade of 
125 feet to the mile, moved the heavy train up 
the hill to the Tehachapi station. The relief 
engine then ran back to Caliente. The pulling 
locomotive ran ahead for coal and water. Sud- 
denly the train began moving backward. The 
air brakes had slackened. Efforts were made to 
use the hand brakes. They were out of order. 
The train, rapidly increasing its speed, was run- 
ning at a fearful velocity. Striking a curve, the 
train jumped the track and the cars fell one upon 
the other in the canyon below. The cars then 
caught fire and a terrible scene was witnessed. 
Twenty-seven of the passengers were killed or 
burned to death and a like number badly injured. 
The accident was due to careless trainmen and 
worthless brakes. 

The fortunes of politics are as surprising as 
the fortunes of war. In 1854 a young captain 
named U. S. Grant was stationed for a time at 
Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus county. Returning 
to the east, we heard nothing of him until the 
Civil war. Then rapidly rising in military rank 
from colonel to general, we see him finally accept- 
ing the surrender t)f General Lee's army. Now 
the people's hero, he was elected to the Presi- 
dency of the United States. California gave him, 
however, only a small majority — Grant 54,583, 
Seymour 54.6/7. Again elected President in 
1872, the state gave Grant 54.020, Horace Greeley 
40.718. 

Crowned as hero of the Civil war and as ex- 
President of the United States, in 1879 he made 
a tour of the world. He followed in the foot- 
steps of \Vm. 11. Seward in 1870. F.vcrywhcre 
welcomed with distinguished honors, he was no- 
where more royally welcomed than in his ])ioneer 
state. For many days previous to his arrival 
from China extensive preparations had been 
made for his reception. As soon as the City of 
Tokio, twenty miles at sea. was sighted from 
I'oint Lobos September 20th, the news was tele- 
phoned to the Merchants' Fxchange. It was 



UNPLACED EVENTS 321 

then telegraphed over the state. It was 3 :00 
o'clock and in San Francisco as if by magic flags 
were run to every housetop and flags and stream- 
ers decorated every steamer, ship and yacht in 
the harbor. Bells were rung, whistles blown and 
cannon fired. Thousands of people then joined 
the multitudes upon the hillsides until they were 
black with the excited throng. Steamers and 
sailing \essels now began moving toward the 
Golden Gate. Near 7 :00 o'clock the heavy black 
smoke over Fort Point indicated the arrival of 
the Tokio within the bay. Cheer after cheer 
from thousands ui throats now filled the air. 
The Tokio as she mo^■ed along the shore led the 
jjrocession of shipping craft crowded with people. 
The cannon of Alcatraz and Angel islands re- 
sponded to the signal salute from Fort Point and 
the air, heavy with powder smoke, almost ob- 
scured the triumphal parade. Upon reaching the 
wharf General Grant was welcomed to the city 
by Mayor Bryant, and a long procession of mili- 
tary, civilians and old friends escorted him to 
the hotel. The ex-President remained several 
days as the city's guest and excursions, dinners 
and entertainments formed only a part of the 
program arranged in his honor. Wherever he 
visited, San Jose, Stockton and Sacramento, he 
found the same joyful greeting, and his return 
from San Francisco to Washington was one con- 
tinuous ovation across the continent. 



FINIS. 




General John Bidwell, Pioneer of 1841; Strong Temper- 
ance Advocate; Nominee for Governor, 1875, and for 
President, 1892. He Died at Chico, Which He 
Founded, April 4, 1900. 



CALIFORNIA MISSIONS— WHEN FOUNDED 



San Diego de Alcala, July 16, 1769. 

San Carlos de Monterey, June 3, 1 770, 

San Antonio de Padua, July 14, 1771. 

San Gabriel, September 8, 1771. 

San Luis Obispo, September 1, 17 72. 

San Francisco de Assais, October 9, 1 776. 

San Juan Capistrano, November 1, 17 76. 

Santa Clara, January 18, 1777. 

San Buenventura, March 31,1 782. 

Santa Barbara, December 8, 1 786. 

La Purisima, December 8, 1 787. 

Santa Cruz, August 28, 1 79 1 . 

Soledad, October 9, 1791. 

San Jose, June 11, 1 797. 

San Juan Baptista, June 24, 1 79 7. 

San Miguel, July 25, 1797. 

San Fernando Rey, September 8, 1 79 7. 

San Luis Rey de Francis, June 1 3, 1 798. 

Santa Inez, September 1 7, 1 804. 

San Rafael, December 14, 1819. 

San Francisco de Solano, August 25, 1823. 



323 



Spanish Governors. 

("i.'Lspar do I'ortola — 17C)7-1771. 
Felipe (le Karri — 1771-1774. 
Feli])e de Neve — 1774-1782. 
Pedro Pages— 1782-1790. 
jose Antonio Romeau — 1790-1792. 
Jose J. de Arrillaga — 1791-1794. 
Diego de Borica— 1794-1800. 
Jose j. de Arrillaga— 1800-1814. 
jose Arguello— 1814-1816. 
i'ahlo Mnccnte de Sola— 1815-1822. 



Mexican Governors. 

I'al)lc> \ inccnte de Sola— 1821-1822. 

Luis Antonio .Xrguello — 1822-1825. 

Jose Maria I^scheandia— 1825-1831. 

Manuel \ictoria— 1831-1832. 

I'io Pico- 1832-1833. 

I ose Figucroa — 1833-1835. 

Nicholas (iutterrez — 1835-1836. 

.Mariano Chico — 1836. 

.Xicholas (iutterrez— 1836. 

Juan Paptista Alvarado — 1836-1842. 

Manuel Mitcheltorcna— 1842-1845. 

I'io I'ico— 1845-1846. 

lose Maria Flore.s — 1847. 



Military Governors. 

John I). Sloal— July 7. 1846. 
Robert F. Stockton— July 29. 1846. 
John C Fremont — January 19, 1847. 
Stcplien W. Kearny — b'ehruary 23, 1847. 
Richard P. Mason-May 31. l'849. 
Persitcr !'". Smith- -I'chruary 2(). 1849. 
Bennett Piley .\]>v\\ 12, 1849. 

324 



GOVERNORS— WHEN INAUGURATED. 



John M. I'.urnctt, Dec. 20. 1849 Democrat 

joliii AlcDuugal, Jan. 9, 1851 Democrat 

John Bigler, Jan. 8, 1852 Democrat 

John l')i^ier, Jan. 7, 1854 Democrat 

J. Xcely John.son. Jan. 9, 1856 Aliolitionist 

John B. Wellcr, Jan. 8, 1858 Democrat 

Milton S. Latham, Jan. 9, 1860 Democrat 

John (I. Downey, Jan. 14. 1860 Democrat 

T.ehmd Stanford, Jan. 10. 1862 Democrat 

Frederick F. Low, Dec. 10, 1863 Union 

Henry H. Haight, Sept. 4, 1867 Democrat 

Newton Booth, Dec. 8. 1871 RepubHcan 

Ivomualdo Pacheco, F"eb. 27, 1875 Republican 

William Irwin, Dec. 9, 1875 Democrat 

(ieorg-e C. Perkin.^, Jan. 8, 1880 Republican 

George Stoneman. Jan. 10. 1883 Democrat 

Washington Bartlett, Jan. 8. 1887 Democrat 

Robert W. W^aterman, Sci)t. 13. 1887 Democrat 

Henry H. Markham, Jan. 8. 1891 Republican 

James H. Budd. Jan. 11. 1895 Democrat 

Henry T. Gage, Jan. 4, 1899 Repuljlican 

( ieorge C. Pardee, Jan. 7, 1903 Republican 

James N. (iillett, Jan. 9, 1907 Republican 

Hiram W. Johnson, Jan. 3. 1911 Republican 

I lirani W. Johnson, Jan. 4. 1915 Progressive 



325 



INDEX 



Agriculture, 296. 

American Party — Sweep state, 182; 

popularity of, 183 (a). 
Association, Mercantile — Lottery 

and festival, 301. 



B 



Hankers — Pioneers, 142; Palmer, 
Cook & Co., 143 (i) ; Page, Ba- 
con iS: Co. fail, 144; Hank of 
California, 311. 

I'attles — First of Mexican war, 55; 
on the "plains of Mesa,'" 58; 
Santa Clara, 60 ; of San I'as- 
quale, 61. 

Hear Flag — Party capture Sonoma, 
54; description of, 55 (d). 

I'.aker, Edward D. — Pronounces fu- 
neral oration over liroderick, 199; 
his great oration, 226; eloquent 

Congressional speech, 227 ; killed 
at P.airs HlutT, 225, 227; biogra- 
phy, 225 (j). 

HigUr, John — Hiography. 115 (a); 
elected Governor, 115-117; inau- 
guration, 1 18. 

Hidwell, C.eneral John- P.rings state 
constitution, 110; declines nomi- 
nation for Governor, 249 - 261 ; 
nominated for Governor, 260 ; 
hiography, 325. 

Hrannan, Samuel — Mormon leader, 
47: hiography, 48 (f) ; brings 
first newspaper plant, 47.210. 

Hrodcrick. David C. — Ivlected Sena- 
tor, 104; biography, 105 (g) ; his 
first duel, 109; elected United 
States Senator, 194; defies his 
party, 194. 

Hooth, Newton — Klecteil Governor, 
254; biography, 254 (r) ; elected 
I'nited States Senator, 258. 

Hurnitt. i'eter H. — IClected Gov- 
ernor, 102; hiograpliy, 103 (f). 



c 



California Steam Navigation Co. — 
When organized, 133. 

Cam))aign — I'irst |)olitical, 102; an 
abusive, 196; hot, 243; railroad 
only issue, 253. 

Camps, Mining — Founded, 83; de- 
serted, 85 ; Jamestown. 93 ; So- 
nora, ''3; fire, 135; Murphy's, 
94; Placi-rville, 95; Columbia, 
94 ; Coloma, 69. 



Carson, Christopher — Guides Gen- 
eral Kearny into California, 61 ; 
saves lives of dragoons, 62 ; brings 
first mail, 138. 

California — Discovered, 15; King 
Phillip of Spain possesses, 16; 
colonized by the Franciscans, 16; 
King desires a harbor in. 29 ; 
Mexico takes possession of, 36; 
first native daughter, 43 ; foreign 
nations seeking, 51 ; acquisition 
of by the I'nited States, 67 ; 
population of in 1847, 83; fight 
over in Congress, 110; admission 
celebration, 112. 

Capitol, Location — San Diego, 38; 
Monterey, 38; Los Angeles, 38; 
convention selects San Jose, 104; 
removed to Sacramento. 109; at 
I'enicia, 118; permanent location 
at Sacramento, 119; corner stone 
laid, 119; removes to San Fran- 
cisco, 302. 

Cholera — In California, 82 (1). 

Chinese — Governor Eigler opposes, 
115; heavily taxed, 116; ])arty 
platforms denounce, 250, 251 ; 
Chinese must go, 263 ; denied 
right of citizenship, 266; first ar- 
rival of, 267 (2) ; stoned by hood- 
lums. 269, 272; learn trades, 270; 
unjust ordinances against, 271 
(8); railroad imports, 282. 

Chronicle. San Francisco — Founded 
by ])e Young, 276 (14); tlip flop 
of. 277; attack on I. S. Kalloch, 
277. 

Cemetery -- I, o n e Moinitain, 316 
(16). ■ 

Clark's Point, 111 (m). 

Copper— Discovered, 300. 

Colton— Walter, 72 (d) ; hall, 99 
(c). 

Copperhead — Description of, 246 

Convention — I'irst constitutional, 

99; first political, 114; second 

constitutional, 2<>4. 
Convicts — Mexican, transported into 

territory, 44; immigration of from 

every clinic, 161. 

Crabb, Henry .\. — Whig leailer, 

190; <lefeated for United States 

Senator, 193; his tragic death, 
191. 

Currency — Changeable in value, 140; 
importation of foreign eoin. 141 ; 
greenbacks at discount, 142; the 
China dollar, 142. 



326 



INDEX 



327 



D 



Democrats — Disgraceful convention, 
184: the party split, 185; again 
si)lit over slavery question, 195, 
241 : Douglas Democrats unite 
with Republicans, 244. 

Diablo, ^It. — How named, 45. 

Disasters — Loss of steamer Inde- 
pendence. 132 (a) ; wreck of 
Tennessee, 133 (a) ; railroad, at 
Oakland pier, 289; Tehachapi 
mountain, 319; burning of Gold- 
en Gate, 219 (e) : loss of North- 
erner, 303 : wreck of P.rothcr 
Jonathan, 303. 

Doane. Charles — In command of 
vigilantes, 176; loval to I'nion, 
21". 

Donner — Party emigrate to Califor- 
nia, 45 ; terrible suffering and 
death, 46. 

Drake, Sir Francis — Discovers bav, 
15. 

Downey, John — Nominated for Gov- 
ernor, 242, 245 ; biography, 242. 

Duels — Broderick-Terry, 197 ; pro- 
hibited by law, 211 ; Gilbert-Den- 
ver. 212; Washburn-Washington. 
213: Nugent-Hayes, 213; John- 
son-Furguson, 213; Percv-Show- 
alter. 239. 



I'.arthquake— Of 1868, 301; Inyo 
county suffers from, 302 : number 
recorded, 302 (7) ; great San I 
Francisco, April 18, 1906. I 

Election Day — First, 103. 

Emigrants, Overland — Attacked by 
Indians, 82 ; die of cholera, 82 
(i). 

Express — Pony, 223. 



Execution — First legal, 165 



Foreigners — .\inerican, refuse to 
fight Mexican battle, 40 ; first ar- 
rival of, 42 ; peace policy of, 56 ; 
number of, 1842, 63. 

I'oreigners — .American hatred of, 
148; heavily taxed, 149; leave 
mines, 150; abused and mur- 
dered, 151. 

Flood and O'Brien — Millionaires, 
318. 

I'remont, John C. — His expert rifle- 
men. 52 (a), 57: raises first Unit- 
ed States flag, 53 ; names treaty 
of peace, 62 ; elected United 
States Senator, 104; Presidential 
nominee, 192. 

Floods— Of 1850-52. 171; of 1861- 
62, 298; cause of, 298 (4). 



('.ambling — A common pastime. 123 
(9). 

Geary, John W. — First postmaster, 
1 28. 

Gilroy, John — Founder of Gilroy, 
42. 

Gold — Discovery of, 68 ; revolu- 
tionizes the financial world, 73 ; 
amount produced, 74; belts, 74 
(9) ; first paper to publish the 
report, 76 (d) ; lost on Brother 
Jonathan, 303 (9). 

Gorhani, George C. — His fatherhood 
of God, belief, 248 ; nominated 
for Governor, 248 ; biographv, 
250 (m). 

Grant, U- S. — Elected President, 
320; visits California, 321. 

Grant, ^loquelmos — Decision in fa- 
vor of settlers, 318; great rejoic- 
ing at Lodi, 319. 

Gridley, Ruel C. — His famous sack 
of flour, 233 (o) ; death, 234. 

Gvvin, William '\l. — Elected United 
States Senator, 104; re-elected, 
194; arrested as a traitor, 220; 
biography, 98. 

H 

Hard Times — Speculation, 142; no 
work, 311. 

Haight. Henry H. — Inaugurated as 
Governor, 251; displeases dele- 
gates, 254 : biography, 249. 

Hudson Bay Company — ICnglish 
corporation, 63. 

Hunters and Trappers — Jedediah 
Smith, James Pattie, 41. 

I 

Idc, William — .\ plucky leader, 54 
(c). 

Immigrants — Overland first, 44, 45 ; 
colonizing scheme of, 51 ; hasten 
to mines, 83 : Mormon, 47. 

Industries — Of Southern California, 
227. 

I. O. O. F. — The Sovereign Grand 
Lodge visits California, 289. 

Indians — No idea of value of gold, 
73 (c): attacked immigrants, 82; 
population of, 125 ; abused and 
murdered, 126; murder F'resno 
writes, 127; driven from the Yo- 
seniite Valley, 128; the Colorado 
river massacre, 130; slaves, 158; 
Modoc war, 303. 

J 

Tesuits — Settle up Lower California, 
15. 

Johnson, J. Neeley — Biography, 
182; elected Governor, 183. 

Tohnson, Hiram W, — ^ Native son, 
309. 

Juan Flaco (Lean John) — His fa- 
mous ride, 58 (h). 



32ii 



IXDKX 



Kalloch. Isaac >[. — Pastor of I'.ap- 
tist church, 277 ; his vitriolic 
speech, 278 ; slmt by Charles ilc 
^'oung, 278. 

Kalloch, I. M. — Kills Charks <lc 
Young, 279 ; aciiuitted, 280. 

Kearny, General Stephen A. — 
Marches to California, 61 ; de- 
feated hy Mexicans, 61 ; joins 
Commodore Stockton, 62. 

Kearney, Dennis — His incendiary 
speech, 27.S ; arrested, 275 ; biog- 
raphy, 274 (12). 

King, Thomas Starr — His patriotic 
work, 231 ; monument, 231 (n) ; 
biography, 232. 

Knights C.olden Circle, 217. 

Knights Templars — Convocation at 
San I'rancisco, 319. 



r,a I'erouse — Visits California, 30. 
Ijvermore, Robert — First settler, 
42; valley, 43. 
Liquor — Free use of, 123; saloons, 

124 (h); capitol well, 260 (5). 
IJck, James — Miography, 316 (17); 

his splendid gifts to state, 317; 

his great telescope, 317 (18). 
Letters — Waiting for, 139; carriers, 

140. 

Lesse, Jacob — Father of first born 
white cliild, 43 ; merchant, 44 
(c). 

Legislature — l-'irst assembles, 104: 

pass moral laws, 125. 
Los Angeles — Rapid growth, 294. 
Lynch Law — Inhuman treatment of 

Mexican, 151 (e) ; hanging a 

woman, 162; Irish Dick, 164; 

first execution in Sacramento, 

164. 



M 

[C\/yYjJ> ^L■lrshall, :k»h4*-\V.- -Discovers gold, 
) 67; biography, 68 (a). 

Mason, C.ovcrnor — Visits gold field, 

72 ; sends report to J'rcsident 

I'olk, 73. 

Merchants and Traders — iMrst, 42. 
Mexico — C.ains her independence, 

36 ; ciuarreisome i)cople, 38. 
Nfcrchandising — .\ gamble, 136; 

freight shi|>ments, 136 (d); .i lili; 

bargain, 138 (f). 

.McLaughlin. Charks Killed by |e- 
rome U. Cox, 288 (b). 

McDougall. John — Fleeted LInited 
States Senator. 238 ; rejoicing 
over. 238 lb); a disgrace to 
state, 239. 

Mitehelloreua, Covernor — Lands at 
San Diego, 39; reception to, 40; 
banished from territory, 40. 



.Mission — San Diego foundeil, 17: 
San Carlos founded, 19; removecl 
to Carmelo valley, 20; descrip- 
tion of, 20 (c) : location of, 22; 
life in, 23; secularization of, 24. 

.Mills. Darius O. — His gift to state. 
314 (12). 

-Military — 225 (h) ; "California 
lludred," 225 (i); spirit. 225 
(u); Governor Ilaight signs re- 
trenchment bill. 254; disbands 
Stockton Light Artillery. 255 
(v). 

.Monterey — l!ay discovered. 17; 
burning of. 4i ; the capture of. 
52, 55 ; Commo<lore Stockton ar- 
rives at, 56; arrival of first 
steamer, 131. 

Mono Lake^ — Discovered, 130. 
.Mormon — Immigration, 47; dis- 
covered gold, 69. 

Mule — Teams, 135; big wagon, 136 
(c). 

Murietta. Joa(piin — The desperado, 
153. 

N 

Xativc Sons — Organization of. 310. 

Xegro — Democrats oppose immigra- 
tion of, 101; held as slaves, 157; 
Archie Lee, 159; demand equal 
school privileges, 261 ; firemen 
refuse to march with. 261 (6). 

Newspapers — Cry gold, 71 : in state, 
102. 103; circulation of in Cali- 
fornia. 209; the Californian, 210: 
California Star. 210; Alta, 103. 
210; destroyed by fire, 211; 
Stockton Times, 211; suppressed 
by government, 235 ; destroveil 
by mob, 235 (e) ; the Argonaut. 
249 (k); bolt the party, 249; 
Sacramento Union. 249. 

Nicaragua — \'an(lerbilt route. 132; 
war in. 173. 

o 

()aklan<l — Settlement of. 90; litiga- 
tion over waterfront, 91. 
(T'Donnell, C. C— 274 (11). 



I'.iiiama- Isthmus of. 80; railroad. 

SI. 

I'acific Mail Steamship Companv — 
131. 

Pardee. George C. — Hiography, 309. 

Patrons of Husbandry--257. 

Pioneers — I'y ship load. 78; hurry 
to gold mines. 79; sutTcr great 
hardships. 80; honest law-abid- 
ing, 161. 

Phelps, Timothy G. — His patriotic 
act. 238 (a). 

Portola. Governor — >LTrches north. 
17: discovers San I'rancisco bay, 
18; returns to San Diego, 19. 



INDEX 



329 



Pixley. iM-ank— Editor, 241 (e). 

Poiiulation — Increased by vailioad, 
294. 

Presidios — Description of, 30 (e). 

Privateers — Shenandoah, 235 ; Chap- 
man, 236. 

Pueblos— 30. 

I'ricst and Pastor — Bishop Kip, 201 , 
Walter Colton, 203 ; Archbishop 
.\Iemany, 203 ; Riordan, 204 
Thomas Starr King, 205 ; J. C 
Simmons, 203, 206; James Woods, 
205 ; Father Taylor, 205 : John 
C. Pelton, 207; Rev. William 
Tliomas. 306. 



R 



Ralston, Wm. C. — Financier, 312. 

Railroad — Central Pacific, organiza- 
tion of, 284; bonds for, 284 (3) ; 
laying last spike, 286 ; Folsom 
line, 287 ; San Josen & San Fran- 
cisco, 288 ; Goat island defeat, 

291 ; demand tribute of farmers, 

292 ; discrimination against towns, 
292 (7) ; a great enterprise, 281. 

Religious — Denominations, 2 1; 

I)laces of worship, 205 ; pastoral 

duties, 206. 
Riots — -Squatters, 171; of crime, 

174; hoodlums, 272. 
Riley, Geenral Bennett — Arrives at 

Monterey, 96 ; call constitutional 

convention, 99. 
Russians — The encroach upon 

Spanish soil. 16 ; settle at Sitka, 

33 ; buy food in San Francisco, 

34 ; found town at Fort Ross, 35. 



Savage. Tames A. — Biography. 127 
(J). 

Sacramento — First settlement of, 
84 ; growtli of, 86 ; builds Capi- 
tol building, 108; reception to 
Legislature. 109 ; citizens angry, 
303 (a). 

San Francisco — Overrun with crimi- 
nals, 165 ; great fires, 170. 

Sargent. ,\aron A. — The friend of 
the Central Pacific Railroad, 256 
(w) ; his tapeworm ticket, 256; 
sues Chronicle, 256 (y). 

Schools — Public, provision for, 101 ; 
first teacher. 20* ; first in San 
Francisco. 206; John Swett, 208. 

Scannell, Davis S. — Sheriff, 176; 
loyal citizen, 217. 

Scott, Wm. A.— 229 (n) ; 230. 

Serra, Junipero — Appointed Presi- 
dent, 15; biography, 21; death, 
22. 

Ships — San Jose lost, 17; San Car- 
los enters San Francisco bay, 29 ; 
T^exington, 63 ; Edward Everett, 
78; clipper, 137. 

Sherift's — Famous, 307. 



Secessionists — 323. 32i ; ridicule 
the idea of war. 233 ; William 
Hall and C. E. Weller confined 
in Alcatraz, 234 (p) ; at Los An- 
geles. 227, 229. 

San Diego — Boom, 295. 

Sanitary Commission — 232. 

Slavery — Prohibited by the constitu- 
tion, 100. 

Smugglers — Fight with, 32. 

South, The — Disappointment of. 67 ; 
secede from Union, 216; fire on 
l-'ort Sumpter, 225. 

Sola, Governor — Reception to, 33 ; 
turns traitor, 36. 

Stockton, Commodore — Arrives at 
Monterey, 56 ; sails to San 
Diego, 60 ; retakes Los Angeles, 
62. 

Stockton — Birth and growth of, 85. 

Stanford, Leland — The war Gov- 
ernor, 244; biography, 244 (i). 

Stevenson's Regiment — 63. 

State — Organization of, 97 ; bound- 
ary line, 100; first ball, 102; ad- 
mission, 110. rejoicing over, 111: 
division, 122, 217; officers elected 
for four years. 246. 

Stage — Race to San Jose. 112: 
lines. 134; time from Sonora. 
133 (b). 

Steamers — Second up Sacramentc 
river. 78 (f) ; overcrowded. 79; 
California. 131 ; first interior, 
134. 

Sutter, John .\. — Marches to Gov- 
ernor's assistance, 40 ; tries to 
pre-empt land, 69 ; bnographv, 83 
(m). 

Sunday Law — 125. 
Sumner, General E. V. — Unexpect- 
ed arrival, 219; returns to the 
east. 220. 



Tinkham. Henry — E-xperience. 79. 

Terrv. David S. — Stabs Honkins, 
180; imprisoned in Fort Gunny 
Bags. 181 : reception to. 181. 

Towns. When Founded — Monterey, 
17; Verba Buena. 30. 119; Gil- 
roy, 42 ; New Hope. 49 ; Sacra- 
mento. 84 ; Stockton. 83 : New 
York of the Pacific, 92 ; Vallejo, 
92; San Jose, 112; Benicia, 118; 
San Francisco. 119; Los An- 
geles. 293 ; San Diego. 295 ; 
Copperopolis, 301. 

Trade Centers — 83. 

Temperance — Reform party. 260. 



u 



I'niversitv — California. 208; Stan- 
ford. Jr.. 209. 

Union — -Men asleep. 221; Union 
meeting broken up, 221 ; great 
demonstration, 222. 



330 



INDEX 



V 



Vigilance Committee — Of 1852, 
hang Jenkins. 166; of 1856, 
hang Cora and Casey, 178. 

V^asquez, Timbureio — Famous high- 
wayman, hanged, 306. 

w 

War— Mexican, 51; Civil, 216; 
Amador, 304 ; Modoc, 305. 

Water — Tuolumne county, 188. 

Weber, Captain Charles M. — Pio- 
neer of 1842, 44; organizes San 
Jose Volunteers, 71 ; founds 
Stockton, 85 ; biography, 59 ; 
strong patriotism, 223. 

Walker, William — Biography, 172; 
seizes Nicaragua, 173. 



Winn, General A. M. — Organizes 
Native Sons Society, 310 (11). 

Women — In state, 105; granted 
equal suffrage, 257 (1). 

Williams, James King of — I'liogra- 
pay, 175; assassinated. 177. 

Workingmen's Party — Honor Kear- 
ney, 275 ; elect I. S. Kalloch 
Mayor, 277. 

Wright, General — Drowned, 303. 



Y 



Yosemite — V'alley discovered, 128; 
first settlers in, 129. 

Verba Buena — First families of, 30 ; 
first ball, 48, 57 ; population in 
1847, 63; first suicide, 64; name 
changed to San Francisco, 119. 



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